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Cars are becoming more and more technologically advanced. In the past decade, we have seen improvements in electric car technology and driverless cars. The latest advance comes from Mercedes-Benz. The luxury carmaker has unveiled a car that lets you use your mind to control certain things. The car giant unveiled its futuristic car at the IAA Mobility show in Munich earlier this week. The car is called Vision AVTR. The four capitalized letters at the end of its name are to make people think of the movie Avatar. This movie was about using the brain to connect with nature. A Mercedes spokesperson said the car would not be available for purchase any time soon. It is currently in the concept stage of production.

Mercedes is using a technology called brain-computer interface (BCI) in the Vision AVTR. The car's computers "read" brain signals and translate them into actions. Mercedes says the system needs about a minute to get to understand a new driver's thought processes. The driver will then be able to perform certain functions in the car using just their thoughts. Mercedes spokeswoman Britta Seeger spoke about how exciting she thought the futuristic car was. She said: "Mercedes-Benz is setting another milestone in the merging of man and machine." The Mercedes website says: "As soon as you get in, the car becomes an extension of your own body and a tool to discover the environment."


Sources:

  • https://mashable.com/article/mercedes-benz-vision-avtr-mind-read
  • https://www.techradar.com/news/mercedes-is-showing-off-actual-working-in-car-mind-control
  • https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/16065137/new-mercedes-vision-avtr-mind-control-brain/

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