Jan Scheuermann has been paralyzed for more than a decade. But that didn't stop her from successfully using a military flight simulator, using just her thoughts, like it was no big deal.

The 55-year-old mother of two, who became paralyzed from a rare genetic disease, participated in experiments last year with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or DARPA). Researchers implanted tiny electrodes in parts of her brain that typically control the right arm and hand. They combined the electrode signals with sophisticated software to "read her mind." Scheuermann could control a robotic arm on both sides of her body, using her mind to grip objects, move her fingers, and rotate her wrists.

She also used those skills to fly a plane on her own – well, sort of. At a Future of War conference in Washington last week, DARPA researchers revealed that Scheuermann was able to fly an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a Cessna in a simulator, just by thinking about it. "For someone who's never flown — she's not a pilot in real life — she's in there flying a simulator directly from neurosignaling," DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar said during the conference.

University of Pittsburgh surgeons have since removed the electrodes from Scheuermann's brain, and she looks back fondly on the experience. "This is been a fantastic, thrilling, wild ride, and I am so glad I've done this," she said in a press release after the experiment concluded. "This study has enriched my life, given me new friends and coworkers, helped me contribute to research and taken my breath away."

Here's footage from Scheuermann's flight, via the Washington Post. It's wobbly, but still really impressive:

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[H/T: Defense Tech

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