---
title: "DARPA Wants Soldiers to Control Drones With Their Thoughts"
description: "DARPA has officially funded a program to come up with a brain-machine interface headset that could allow soldiers to control drones with their minds."
date: "2019-05-21"
modified: "2019-05-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/darpa-brain-machine-interface-drone"
categories:
  - "DARPA"
  - "Drones"
  - "Military"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "brain-machine interface"
  - "DARPA"
  - "drones"
  - "the digest"
  - "unmanned aerial vehicles"
---

# DARPA Wants Soldiers to Control Drones With Their Thoughts

![DARPA has officially funded a program to come up with a brain-machine interface headset that could allow soldiers to control drones with their minds.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/darpa-brain-machine-interface-drone.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Game of Drones

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has officially funded a program to come up with a brain-machine interface — in the form of a headset designed to let military personnel control anything from "active cyber defense systems" to "swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles" through brain activity alone, according to a [press release](<https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2019-05-20>).

The agency is hoping such an interface could make it easier for service members to carry out complex tasks and help them multitask as well.

"Just as service members put on protective and tactical gear in preparation for a mission, in the future they might put on a headset containing a neural interface, use the technology however it’s needed, then put the tool aside when the mission is complete," said program manager Al Emondi in the press release.

## Read/Write

DARPA has an ambitious timeline for the headset. First on the agenda: figure out a way to record electrical signals in the brain and how to relay information back to the brain tissue.

Once that's settled, DARPA is hoping to turn that ability into a brain-machine interface that's useful in a military context, such as controlling drone swarms. Let's just hope it turns out to be more accurate at controlling drones in active combat than the [$150 mind-controlled drone](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/mind-controlled-drone-kickstarter>) that hit Kickstarter in March.

**READ MORE:** [DARPA Funds Ambitious Brain-Machine Interface Program](<https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/darpa-funds-ambitious-neurotech-program>) \[*IEEE Spectrum*\]

**More on brain-machine interfaces:** *[Elon Musk: Brain-Computer Interface Update “Coming Soon”](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-brain-computer-interface-coming-soon>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)