Summary: Researchers demonstrated that lucid dreamers could control a remote-controlled car by using electromyography (EMG) sensors placed on their arms to detect muscle activity during dreams. Participants navigated the car through obstacles by straining their left arm for forward motion and their right arm for turning, with dream-state movements translated into commands. This milestone builds on earlier studies focused on virtual object control, paving the way for potential future applications in integrating dreams with physical reality.
Key Takeaways:
- Dream-Controlled Car Navigation: Researchers enabled lucid dreamers to steer a remote-controlled car using arm muscle movements detected by EMG sensors during their dreams.
- Integration of Neurotechnology: The study utilized devices combining sleep-stage trackers, EMG sensors, and audio/visual alerts to translate dream-state movements into real-world actions.
- Future Applications: Researchers aim to commercialize this technology by 2025, exploring the potential of lucid dreaming for creative, interactive, and practical applications in daily life.
Participants in a study by REMspace, a neurotechnology company specializing in lucid dreaming studies, used lucid dreaming to control a remote-controlled car and successfully navigate obstacles remotely.
The achievement builds on REMspace’s previous peer-reviewed studies, including one where dreamers controlled virtual objects and interacted with a Tesla in a simulated environment.
Researchers at REMspace have developed a device integrating sleep-stage trackers and electromyography (EMG) sensors to detect movements inside dreams. The EMG sensors were placed on the arms of the nine lucid dreamers, who were trained to control the car by straining their left arm for forward motion and their right arm for turning. During the lucid dreaming phase, audio signals via earbuds or LED lights alerted them to obstacles in the dream environment.
Despite the presence of sleep paralysis, the sensors detected residual muscle activity from participants’ dream-state movements. A server remotely identified when participants entered a lucid dreaming state and translated the EMG signals into commands for the remote-controlled car. Four participants successfully controlled the remote-controlled car in REMspace’s lab directly from their dreams.
Though brief, their control included navigation and obstacle avoidance, representing a step in bridging the gap between dreams and the physical world.
“For the first time, sleeping individuals have been able to control physical, moving objects,” says Michael Raduga, CEO at REMspace, in a release. “This marks a significant leap from our earlier work, which focused on virtual object control, highlighting the incredible potential of dream-based interaction with reality.”
New Frontiers in Neurotechnology
REMspace notes that its mission is to bridge dreams and physical reality. By the end of 2025, the company plans to make this technology commercially available, allowing people to explore the untapped potential of lucid dreaming.
“Dreams, especially lucid dreams, hold immense potential to reshape how we interact with the world,” says Raduga in a release. “With advances like these, we are opening doors to new ways of exploring human potential, creativity, and ingenuity.”
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