Mercedes has invented a system so that its cars can read the drivers' minds, which will allow certain operations to be carried out only when the driver thinks about them, reports 'El Confidencial'..

According to the "Multi News" report, the German company has incorporated the system - fully functional, but still in an experimental format - into its Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR 'concept car'.

This model was announced at CES in Las Vegas in 2020, but this mind-controlled version will only be officially presented at IAA Mobility 2021, which kicks off this Tuesday in Germany. According to the German giant, visitors to the fair will be able to test it.

How does it work?

Controlling vehicles with your mind is one of the great dreams of science fiction. The Mercedes system uses electrodes that are attached to the back of the skull and pick up electrical activity from the brain.

This mental activity is analyzed by an artificial intelligence system that interprets your wishes. The interpretation does not happen automatically.

According to Mercedes, this requires a one-minute calibration process that causes users to notice various points of light on the Vision AVTR's digital dashboard.

The company claims that the "brain-computer interface," or BCI, "measures neuronal activity in the cortex in real time. [The system] analyzes your brain waves and recognizes which lights you are focusing your attention on.

"The more intense the attention, the more intense the neuronal activity, experts say. "The device triggers the appropriate function in the vehicle," such as opening a window or activating the air conditioning

Brain interfaces are not new and have been researched for decades for applications such as mechanical hand control in people who have had an amputation, or to restore the ability to speak in people who have lost it through accident or disease.