Contract Awarded To The University Of Texas At San Antonio

The Department of Defense has awarded a $300,000 contract to the University of Texas at San Antonio to study how UAVs might be controlled through human brain activity. The goal of the program is to determine if a soldier could maneuver a UAV using brain signals that are transmitted to the aircraft.

According to a story posted on the UTSA website, researchers will use new electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment that the university recently acquired through a separate DoD grant. The research will attempt to determine if the need for ground control stations for UAVs can be eliminated, instead using signals directly from brain of a soldier to control one or more of the aircraft.

"As autonomous UAV technologies advance, it is critical that we understand the governing principles of man-machine interactions to utilize the complementary capabilities of man and autonomous machines," said Pack. "This research will be part of UTSA's efforts toward discovering those principles."

UTSA and the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio are members of the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Lone Star Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence and Innovation (LSUASC), a consortium of 16 research institutions and private-sector service companies. In June, LSUASC was granted approval by the FAA to serve as a test site for unmanned aircraft.

(Image provided by UTSA)

FMI: www.utsa.edu