Nissan is playing mind games.

Nissan is literally playing mind games here in Las Vegas at CES 2018. On show is new research that will allow vehicles to read your brain. It’s called Brain-to-Vehicle or B2V and it’s pretty wild stuff. The idea is to speed up reaction times for drivers but most importantly make the impending world of autonomous driving more enjoyable.

Under the banner of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company is aiming to transform the way we interact with our cars, the way they are powered and how, most importantly, they fit into society. This far-flung concept is one of, if not the most amazing car development on show this year. So, what are the benefits of, to put it, clinically “brain decoding”?

Nissan says by predicting signs the driver’s brain is about to pull off a move such as braking, driver assist technologies can begin the action more quickly. It’s basically a neurological way of enhancing manual driving.

The system can also detect and evaluate the driver’s level of discomfort. Via artificial intelligence the various systems at play could adjust the air conditioning, seat position or even the dynamic ability of the car. There’d be no need to flick it into sports mode, it would sense you were in the mood for “spirited” driving anyway.

“This research will be a catalyst for more Nissan innovation inside our vehicles in the years to come,” said Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, Senior Innovation Researcher at the Nissan Research Centre in Japan, who’s leading the B2V research.

Nissan is currently using a headset device that the driver straps to his or her head. It’s able to detect brain wave activity and is said to anticipate inputs 0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver.

It’s crazy stuff, I’ve seen it in action and I have no doubt many years down the track the research and trials being done now will find their way into your Nissan.

[ces2018]