A computer software engineer has figured out how to move a "Star Wars" drone with his mind, using a high-tech headset and cloud computing in lieu of any real Force powers.
The would-be Jedi responsible for the feat is Joshua Carr, a U.K.-based technical liaison for IBM. Carr paired a brainwave-reading headset with one of Sphero's popular BB-8 drones, then used IBM's cloud computing software to translate his brain patterns into actions for the robot. Now he can effectively direct the tennis ball-sized droid to roll around the room using nothing but his thoughts – and a raised hand, "for theatrics," he told CTV News Channel.
Carr says he was inspired to come up with his own version of The Force after seeing Yoda lift Luke Skywalker's X-wing out of a swamp in "The Empire Strikes Back." Knowing that it might be tough to tap into a sci-fi Force connecting all things, Carr opted instead to use the Emotiv Insight headset as the basis for his efforts. The $1,000 headset, which was successfully funded through Kickstarter last year, monitors brain waves and associates them with specific emotions or actions.
Carr linked the headset to his BB-8 through the IBM cloud, and programmed the cloud to translate headset signals into instructions for the robot.
"When you think of a certain action, your brain produces certain waves," he Carr said. He explained that he programmed the headset to recognize certain patterns as instructions for the droid, so he can think "move forward," and BB-8 will obey.
Carr demonstrated the headset live for CTV News Channel. He also explains the science behind it in a video posted to YouTube.
