Drivers' brain signals could help reduce braking distances

A team from the Berlin Institute for Technology (BIT) used electro-encephalography (EEG) scalp electrodes accompanied by modern traffic sensors as part of an enhanced braking system.

Lead author of the study Stefan Haufe said: ‘Averaged over all potential detection thresholds, a system that uses all available sensors detects emergency situations 130 milliseconds earlier than a system that doesn’t use EEG.’

Driving at 100km/h, this amounts to reducing the braking distance by 3.66m — the full length of a compact car or the potential margin between causing and avoiding accidents.

The team first identified the parts of the brain that are most active when braking and used a driving simulator to demonstrate the viability of mind-reading assisted driving.

While sitting among conventional driving controls, the study’s 18 participants were asked to drive a car that was displayed on a screen in front of them while a series of electrodes were attached to their scalp to measure brain activity.