Notes

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Brain Drone Race is about to begin. The racers are not looking at their small drone helicopters. They are looking at their computer screens. They will not race their drones with remote controls. Instead, they will control the drones with their brains and the black headsets they are wearing.

"Three, two, one ... GO!" the announcer shouts. The racers look at their computer screens. They think about moving their drones. The drones begin to rise up and fly. Some only fly a few feet. Other drones fly all the way across the finish line.

This is the first drone race with brain-controlled interfaces (BCI). A BCI is a machine controlled by your thoughts. The 16 racers used BCI headsets to race their drones.

Help For Paralyzed People
Dr. Juan Gilbert helped organized the race at the University of Florida. He wants to hold this race every year. He wants the race to make more people use BCI machines.

BCI machines are not new. Scientists have been studying brainwaves for over 100 years. Previously BCI machines have been used mostly in hospitals. They have helped some paralyzed people move again.

Many BCI machines are based on a special tool. The tool is called an EEG. This tool records what happens in a person's brain when they think.

When someone thinks, their brain begins to work. Each time a brain works, it creates a thought pattern. All thought patterns are different. Throwing a baseball creates one thought pattern. Controlling a drone creates a different pattern.

More Uses Discovered
Headsets record your thought patterns. These patterns can be entered into a computer. The computer then can run a program. The program controls a robot or a drone. If you wear an EEG headset, your thoughts can control how a drone moves.

More and more uses of BCI are being discovered. Some uses might create problems.

The U.S. government uses drones, too. These drones fight dangerous extremists. The government is looking for ways to use BCI in its drones.

Think Carefully, Lawyer Says
Some scientists working with the government have developed new BCI technology. The scientists are working with the government. The technology allows one person to fly many drones. The person can do this by looking at a computer screen and thinking about the drones.

Kit Walsh is a lawyer. She warned that we should think carefully about BCI. "EEG readings are like fingerprints," she said. A person's thought patterns can be used to identify them. Someone might try to find other people based on their thoughts, just like they can with fingerprints.