Ever thought about piloting your own aircraft?
有没有想过驾驶自己的飞行器翱翔于天际?
Well, you're in luck—soon thinking might be all that's needed to take to the skies.
好的,你还挺幸运的—或许再过不久你的飞天梦想真的能变为现实。
A team of German scientists is researching ways to let pilots control aircraft using only brainwaves.
一组德国科学家们正在研究让飞行员只用脑电波就可以驾驶飞行器的方法。
It might be easy to dismiss this as pure science fiction, except that seven people were able to use the scientists' hands-free control setup to fly successfully in a flight simulator.
科幻小说中出现这种事情或许是家常便饭,但现实中有7个人真的使用科学家们制作出的免操纵方式成功操作在飞行模拟器中成功飞行。
Some of them were even able to land their virtual aircraft in a dense, albeit simulated, fog and would have passed part of the test needed to get a pilot's license.
虽然是模拟的情况,但其中有些人甚至可以在高密度浓雾条件成功操控模拟飞行器着陆,并且还通过部分飞行器驾驶资格考试中的测试。
Each test pilot wore a white skullcap loaded with dozens of electroencephalography sensors.
每位测试飞行员都是头戴配有着很多脑电图传感器的白色无边头盔。
These electrodes measured electrical signals created by the pilot's brain cells.
这些电极会测量飞行员的脑细胞产生的电信号。
That information was sent to a computer, which converted signal patterns into commands to control the virtual aircraft.
随后这些信息被传到电脑中,再被转换成命令语言来控制模拟飞行器。
The researchers are now trying to figure out how to get their EEG system into a real airplane.
研究人员们现在正尝试解决如何将脑电图系统传输到飞机当中。
Comforting to think that if your pilot becomes incapacitated, the kid sitting next to you playing video games could take over.
值得欣慰的想一下,如果你所乘坐那班飞机的驾驶员恰好失灵,你旁边正在玩视频游戏的某个孩子也许能接手驾驶这班飞机。