Professor Florian Holzapfel and colleagues at the Institute of Flight System Dynamics of the Technische Universität München have demonstrated the feasibility of flying via brain control.

Brainwaves of the pilots are measured with EEG electrodes connected to a cap. An algorithm developed by Team PhyPa at the Berlin Institute of Technology deciphers electrical potentials and converts them into control commands. Only very clearly defined electrical brain impulses required for control are recognized by the brain-computer interface.

Called Brainflight, the EU-funded project aims to prove that brain-controlled flight is possible and that pilots with little or no experience can use a BCI to fly. Some of the pilots were able to land the plane, in a simulator, under conditions of poor visibility using their thoughts.