World-renowned Japanese automaker Honda has announced their recent achievement in developing a thought-controlled interface for robots. Using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, Honda succeeded in making a robotic hand mimic the movements of a demonstrator’s hand, by reading the brain patterns from the MRI machine.

The robotic hand was able to accurately make a fist, followed by a V-sign. Further research would make complex movements possible in the future.

This technology is a major improvement to past methods, which required either surgery or training to send brain signals in specific manners.

ASIMO, Honda’s most successful robot to date, is likely to be the first to receive implementation of this technology. However, Honda says that it will not be limited to usage in robots. Keyboards, cell phones and robotic limbs are perfect examples of where this technology might come in useful. And of course, using it for Honda’s auto technology is not a bad idea as well.

As robots become more advanced, will our very existence be threatened like how it is often portrayed in movies? Robot performing unassisted surgery and now brain-controlled robots, have robotic researches gone extreme?