用脑电波控制飞行机器人

This flying robot might look like the best Christmas present ever but this is no toy. It is remotely piloted by brain power.

This mind-bending device is being taken through a test flight by robotics research students at the University of Maryland in the United States.

It is Maryland's Robotics Day, a chance for the students and researchers to show off their latest creations to the press and public.

Student Greg Gremillion, Ph.D, explains how his flying robot can be piloted:

"It's the Neuro Sky Mindset. It has four electrodes, three on your ear and one on your forehead and you just wear it like this."

Gremillion says the height of the helicopter can be controlled with the power of the mind:

"We're using electrical signals from the brain to determine a person's level of attention. And then using that to then control the height of a micro quad rotor vehicle off of the ground."

This slithering robot is inspired by the movement of a snake. Interlocking sections unclip and reattach, propelling the snake bot along the ground slowly, but surely.

But there's a serious application for this clunky snake, as designer James Hopkins explains:

"Well because it's a snake-inspired design we expect it to go through rubble into small spaces looking for possible victims of any kind of natural disaster."

After an earthquake, or other disruptive disaster, the snake bot could reach into places a human rescuer could never squeeze.

The robotics open day has attracted lots of young children, all fascinated by the robots. Satyandra Gupta, Maryland Robotics Centre's director says they may be inspired to be the robotic engineers of tomorrow:

"The general public is excited about the idea, intrigued by the idea there is a device with intelligence which can work with them, which can work for them and can do tasks which are pretty difficult."

The University has a range of facilities for students to test their designs to the limits, like its 367,000 gallon neutral buoyancy research tank.

Another team of student divers can work on their underwater robotic arm in a safe environment.

Eventually the team hopes the robotic arm will be used for underwater exploration.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.