This post and podcast are for informational purposes only, and are not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional with any medical-related questions.

Imagine using your brain’s electrical signals to fly a drone?

With the work of Dr. Roya Salehzadeh and her colleagues, that concept has gone from imagination to reality.

Dr. Salehzadeh, who is an Assistant Professor in Lawrence Technological University’s A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering, has firsthand experience. And that experience is part of her ongoing research.

As a student, Dr. Salehzadeh became fascinated by human-computer interaction.

While earning her doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Dr. Salehzadeh participated in the university’s first brain-drone race. Wearing a noninvasive headband, she used the electrical signals from her brain to power her drone forward–and ultimately won second place in the competition.

Dr. Salehzadeh would go on to implement a similar brain-drone race event as a professor at LTU. And as cool as the race is, it’s a small representation of her work.

The “bigger picture”? Her ongoing research focuses on brain-computer interface, or BCI. And Dr. Salehzadeh says there’s still much to be discovered, about human-computer interaction the ways brain signals can interact with computers, and the breakthroughs that may result.

“We don’t know a lot of things about what’s happening here, so we are at the beginning of this interesting field,” she comments.

Dr. Salehzadeh talked about her journey in robotics and her experience in the brain-drone race, shared some favorite resources, and explained how the brain-drone connection works.

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• How Dr. Salehzadeh’s journey as an engineer led her to study human-robot interaction;

• Her first experience with BCI, and how her interest led to her involvement in the brain-drone race;

• How the brain’s electrical signals can translate into commands that move the drone;

• A closer look at the factors involved, when individuals with different perspectives attempt to move a drone through brain activity;

• Some resources educators might want to check out, to learn more about BCI;

• Ways in which Dr. Salehzadeh would like to grow and expand LTU’s brain-drone race;

• The “bigger picture” with brain-computer interface work;

• One of the most magical moments Dr. Salehzadeh has experienced, as she researches BCI.