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Sixteen
competitors wearing special headsets measuring the electrical
activity of their brains used their powers of concentration to
send their drones down a 10-yard (meter) course to the finish
line.
The students used brain-computer interface (BCI) which enables a
person to use brainwaves to control a computer or other device.
BCI programs are used to assist paralyzed patients is using
prosthetic limbs, according to techcrunch.com.
"You start thinking and you hear that motor kick up and you know
it kind of kicks you into a different mental state so you have
to focus," said contestant Daniel Royer, a mechanical
engineering student at the university.
Professor Juan Gilbert, chairman of the Computer and Information
Science and Engineering Department at the University of Florida,
said they had been doing research on BCI and decided to connect
it to drones for the race.
"The implications are far beyond the race," he said. "It's
fascinating. It's the first of its kind. It's the future."
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