MERCEDES-BENZ has unveiled a car that you can control with your mind. You can even change radio stations by simply THINKING about it. Isn’t this crazy!

This is not fiction or some sort of dream, it’s “Innovation at its peak!”

This new Mercedes-Benz which was displayed at IAA Mobility in Germany this week, actually senses every of your thought and executes them without steering or even clicking a button or touching a screen…all you need to do is nothing but THINK!

The mind-blowing Mercedes Vision AVTR is a sci-fi car of the future – powered by electricity and your brain. The car was inspired by the movie—Avatar.

Hold on, peeps! Just don’t get it twisted, while the name does suggest “Avatar,” it stands for Advanced Vehicle Transformation. It is not a here-and-now idea; it looks at transportation as it may be in 10 to 15 years. Yes, it’s very much pie-in-the-sky, but some of the design facets could see production long before the concept makes it to a dealership.

The AVTR gets it to power from a battery that will be powering electric cars 15 to 20 years from now — it is called an “organic battery.” The graphene-based organic cell chemistry means it is devoid of all rare earths and metals so it will be compostable at the end of its useful life.

The tire design is also controlled by a steering system that allows the front and rear wheels to act independently. The action is such it allows the car to crab sideways at a 30-degree angle. This, says M-B, gives AVTR maximum maneuverability.

Upon entering the car, you’ll have to wear a special helmet designed to track your brain activity.

Entering the cabin sees the central controller light up a turquoise blue. The controller coming to life welcomes the driver, as it begins to pulse in tune with their heartbeat, which forms the so-called “biometric connection.” The controller has two positions — in its normal lowered position, the car is in its autonomous driving mode; when raised it allows the driver to control the vehicle by rocking the controller back, forth, left, and right to control the accelerator, brakes, and steering.

At the same time, what would be the entire center console and dash panel become one massive screen that is fed all of its information from a roof-mounted projector.

Now this is where things get very different. When the driver holds their right hand up (or the passenger their left hand) with the palm facing the screen ahead, and then rotates it to face them, all the various functions, including infotainment, appear as an illuminated icon in the palm of their hand. Moving the hand left or right opens different menus and when the right menu is reached simply closing the hand executes the command. Sitting in the driver’s seat it work remarkably well with the icons being legible and surprisingly easy to control — the system tracks the hand so the projection is always in proper alignment.

The exterior of the car is wild and futuristic, and the interior is equally space-age. But what is important is that Mercedes is using it to demonstrate its Brain Computer Interface, or BCI.

Thankfully, you may not actually be driving this car using your brain. But Mercedes thinks you’ll be able to use this technology to control parts of the user interface. This may include changing radio stations, or choosing a different color of ambient light inside.

Mercedes even goes so far as to imagine a driver choosing his destination for sat-nut with the power of imagination – which is likely decades away.

“Mercedes-Benz is setting another milestone in the merger of man and machine,” said Mercedes Britta Seeger.

The car reportedly comes with a “BCI technology that works completely independently of speech and touch. This opens up revolutionary possibilities for seamless interaction with the vehicle.”

If you are guessing how it works, then keep reading!

First, you’ll put on some kind of helmet with wearable electrons that attach to the back of your head. It is designed to record brain activity, but it’ll probably sound pretty strange to you.

Before attaching you directly to the vehicle, it will take about a minute to calibrate.

The Mercedes Vision AVTR will project light dots on the digital dashboard. Light dots will be projected on the digital dashboard. And then your brain will react to these visual stimuli, which can then be measured by the device.

Your brain waves will be analyzed to identify which light points you have focused on.

At the same time, what would be the entire centre console and dash panel become one massive screen that is fed all of its information from a roof-mounted projector.

Now this is where things get very different. When the driver holds their right hand up (or the passenger their left hand) with the palm facing the screen ahead, and then rotates it to face them, all the various functions, including infotainment, appear as an illuminated icon in the palm of their hand.

Moving the hand left or right opens different menus and when the right menu is reached simply closing the hand executes the command. Sitting in the driver’s seat it works remarkably well with the icons being legible and surprisingly easy to control — the system tracks the hand so the projection is always in proper alignment.

Take a peek at the sooner model of the car.