Robots can now 'read' your mind

The next big step for robots is mind reading. Researchers at MIT's computer science and artificial intelligence lab hooked up a robot called Baxter to an electroencephalography (EEG) monitor. Through the use of proprietary algorithms the researchers developed, the robot is able to read outputs from the machine, which are passed along within 30 milliseconds. The system works by monitoring when someone notices a mistake, relaying that information to the robot almost immediately. This could allow robots to catch and correct errors in the future.

When the EEG monitor relays this information, it is using signals called "error-related potentials." This brain signal is one of the easier ones to recognize because it is "mostly a big noise," lab director Daniela Rus told Quartz.

While this is not the kind of mind reading someone might see in an X-Men movie, it could have enormous potential. As the world moves toward automation, average consumers might value this kind of feature in self-driving cars or delivery drones. Since specialized equipment is required for this right now, it might be more practical to implement in a factory or warehouse first.

Companies such as Amazon and Wal-Mart are already far along in the automation of their warehouses. If this kind of technology improved the ability for fewer people to monitor more robots, it could bring big benefits to companies handing a lot of inventory.

We probably would not see mind-reading robots rolling around the streets anytime soon, but MIT has yet again shown the public a future that is exciting to think about.