Close Menu
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

AI Agents Are Getting Better at Writing Code—and Hacking It as Well

25 June 2025

Oppo Reno 14F 5G With Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, 6,000mAh Battery Launched: Price, Specifications

25 June 2025

Vivo X Fold 5 – Price in India, Specifications (25th June 2025)

25 June 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Just In
  • AI Agents Are Getting Better at Writing Code—and Hacking It as Well
  • Oppo Reno 14F 5G With Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC, 6,000mAh Battery Launched: Price, Specifications
  • Vivo X Fold 5 – Price in India, Specifications (25th June 2025)
  • Honor X9c India Launch Confirmed; to Get 108-Megapixel Rear Camera, 1.5K Curved AMOLED Display
  • Fairphone 6 – Price in India, Specifications (25th June 2025)
  • How to Clean a Beer Glass for Perfect Pours
  • Redmi Note 14 Pro+, Redmi Note 14 Pro New Colour Variant Coming to India on July 1
  • The Best Soda Makers for Making Sparkling Water
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release
Subscribe
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
Home » Paralyzed man flies virtual drone by thought alone
News

Paralyzed man flies virtual drone by thought alone

News RoomBy News Room22 January 20253 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

A man with paralysis has been able to fly a virtual drone using only his thoughts.

The feat was made possible by a brain-computer interface (BCI) that decoded the man’s brain activity in real time, Nature reported this week. The neural signals were associated with finger movements that enabled control of the virtual drone.

“There’s a lot of things that we enjoy or do as humans where we use multiple individuated finger movements, so like typing, sewing, playing a musical instrument,” said Matthew Willsey, the study’s co-author and a neurosurgeon at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “That’s what this line of work is focused on — how we enable the control of multiple things at the same time.”


Please enable Javascript to view this content

Willsey added that the experiment could’ve been performed with a real drone but the team decided to use a virtual one for ease and safety.

The 69-year-old man who participated in the study told the researchers that controlling the virtual object felt like playing a musical instrument, saying: “Flying [the virtual drone] is tiny little finesses off a middle line, a little bit up, a little bit down.”

The man’s BCI was fitted by Blackrock Neurotech and was implanted in the area of the brain that controls hand motion.

An AI model was used to map the neural signals received by the BCI’s electrodes to the man’s thoughts, New Scientist explained. The participant first went through a process of learning how to imagine some of his fingers moving in a way that created electrical signals of varying strength, which later allowed him to pilot the virtual drone through an obstacle course.

Willsey said that for the participant, the test was the realization of “a dream that he thought was lost once he suffered his injury. He had a passion and a dream for flying. He seemed very empowered and enabled — he would have us take videos and send it to friends.”

BCI technology has made significant advancements in recent years, with companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink also developing a device that is currently undergoing human testing.

Once fully developed, a slew of exciting applications could bring significant freedom and independence to those with paralysis.

They include allowing people with severe paralysis or locked-in syndrome to communicate by translating neural activity into text or speech simply through their thoughts. It can also enable people to use computers, play games, and operate wheelchairs and robotic prosthetics, and even do things like grasp objects or scratch their face.

However, challenges remain with the technology, including medical risks from the surgery required to implant a BCI device.

High levels of concentration are also required from the person using the device, with current BCIs correctly recognizing mental commands only about 80% of the time, and up to 30% of users failing to get it to function at all. The health and psychological implications of the technology, including cognitive fatigue and long-term exposure to electromagnetic fields, are also not yet fully understood.

These and other challenges highlight the need for continued research and development to improve BCI technology, deal with safety concerns, and create appropriate regulatory frameworks.











Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleThis software stops spam calls, and it’s 55% off right now
Next Article Win a 24-inch gaming monitor from Sansui with this giveaway

Related Articles

News

AI Agents Are Getting Better at Writing Code—and Hacking It as Well

25 June 2025
News

How to Clean a Beer Glass for Perfect Pours

25 June 2025
News

The Best Soda Makers for Making Sparkling Water

25 June 2025
News

This New Watch Is Being Purpose-Built for Space Exploration—and It’s Not an Omega

25 June 2025
News

Snake Venom, Urine, and a Quest to Live Forever: Inside a Biohacking Conference Emboldened by MAHA

25 June 2025
News

‘Big Balls’ No Longer Works for the US Government

24 June 2025
Demo
Top Articles

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 202499 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views

Oppo Reno 14, Reno 14 Pro India Launch Timeline and Colourways Leaked

27 May 202575 Views

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Latest News
News

How to Clean a Beer Glass for Perfect Pours

News Room25 June 2025
Phones

Redmi Note 14 Pro+, Redmi Note 14 Pro New Colour Variant Coming to India on July 1

News Room25 June 2025
News

The Best Soda Makers for Making Sparkling Water

News Room25 June 2025
Most Popular

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

13 January 2025124 Views

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 202499 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views
Our Picks

Honor X9c India Launch Confirmed; to Get 108-Megapixel Rear Camera, 1.5K Curved AMOLED Display

25 June 2025

Fairphone 6 – Price in India, Specifications (25th June 2025)

25 June 2025

How to Clean a Beer Glass for Perfect Pours

25 June 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Best in Technology. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.