NeuroDoctrine Demonstrates Brain-Controlled Drones in Manchester

NeuroDoctrine demonstrated a neural interface directing three small commercial drones at a two-day conference in Manchester. The company’s demonstration, held outside an office building in northern England in late September, showed the user keeping his hands in his pockets while controlling the drones without a joystick or screen.

Key details

• Sensors in the head-worn device detected electrical activity associated with the visual cortex.
• Onboard processing converted the signals into commands, which the system sent to the drones over Bluetooth.
• Founder and CEO Zied Tayeb said individual calibration takes about six hours because users produce different brain-signal patterns.
• The company is developing goggles with small displays intended to show the drone’s location.

The demonstration showed one person directing three drones without a joystick or screen.

Why it matters

NeuroDoctrine is developing the technology for defence applications. Tayeb described integrating neural control with existing defence systems and autonomous capabilities as a long-term goal.