The phrase ?connected cars? has taken on a whole new meaning in one of Nissan?s latest research projects.
Forget the chatter about cars connecting to infrastructure or other vehicles on roadways for a moment. In a preview of its plans for the annual CES technology show, the Japanese automaker said it will showcase brain-to-vehicle (B2V) technology, which takes the thoughts in a driver?s mind and converts them into vehicle actions.
By converting the signals found in the human brain and communicating them to vehicle systems, Nissan said, it can speed up reaction times for drivers by 0.2 to 0.5 second. If a motorist picks up a foot with the intention of stepping on the accelerator, for example, Nissan?s brain-monitoring overlords will beat the human to the punch and initiate the throttle deployment. While this is by no means a production-ready feature, Nissan said it?s an enhancement that, in a semi-autonomous environment, someday may preserve a distinctly human role in the driving process.

?When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines,? said Nissan executive vice president Daniele Schillaci. ?Yet B2V does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable.?
In the real world, it?s hard enough to convince drivers to wear their seatbelts, much less strap a contraption to their heads that measures brain-wave activity. But if ...