If you’ve ever had a sleepless night and then had to wake up early for school or work, you might wish you could drive while sleeping. But never be foolish enough to do that, at least not at this time, because:
Statistics show that for every five fatal traffic accidents, one occurs due to drowsy driving. In the United States alone, there are over 100,000 accidents each year, resulting in 1,500 deaths and 71,000 injuries due to drivers dozing off behind the wheel.
Research indicates that driving while drowsy increases the risk of accidents by three times. Nonetheless, due to reasons like time pressure, overconfidence, and a lack of awareness about the risks, about 50% of drivers admit they have driven while feeling sleepy.
Drowsy Driving. (Illustrative Image).
Drowsiness often creeps in when drivers become entranced by the monotonous scenery of the road ahead – a phenomenon known as “highway hypnosis.”
For motorcyclists, drowsiness can be triggered simply by a cool autumn breeze, as the airflow caresses their cheeks to the point where their eyelids seem to want to close. Who wouldn’t wish they could drive while sleeping?
That dream has long been considered fanciful. However, in a recent experiment published in the International Journal of Dream Research, a group of scientists from the American technology company REMspace is aiming to turn this seemingly impossible idea into reality: they want to develop technology that allows us to drive while asleep.
Starting with the Idea of Lucid Dreaming
You may have heard of “lucid dreaming.” This is the state in which the dreamer is aware they are dreaming and can control the events occurring in that dream.
This phenomenon was first scientifically confirmed in 1975. Since then, statistics show that approximately 50% of the population has experienced lucid dreaming. Among those surveyed, 23% reported that they frequently have such dreams at least once a month, using them to create exciting adventures, converse with celebrities, or even reunite with deceased loved ones.
In a lucid dream, anything is possible; you can turn your imagination into reality, from breaking the laws of physics to fly or dive deep into the ocean, to possessing magical powers.
Thus, driving in a lucid dream is not particularly difficult. Scientists believe that if someone can drive in their dreams, they should also be able to drive in real life while in that lucid state.
People can do anything in a lucid dream.
To conduct this experiment, researchers at REMspace developed a special device capable of detecting small muscle twitches in the arms and legs during sleep.
When the body enters the rapid eye movement REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep phase – which is also the stage where lucid dreams are most likely to occur – most muscles become paralyzed. This is a basic brain feature that shuts down all movements in your body while you are sound asleep.
On one hand, this conserves energy while sleeping. On the other hand, it helps prevent unfortunate accidents (imagine sleepwalkers wandering out onto balconies or down stairs).
However, in a lucid dream, scientists have noted that some small twitching movements can still occur in the sleeping person. And REMspace has developed several sensors to “translate” these movements into actions, establishing an interface between the “dream” and the “real world.”
This interface not only allows the person dreaming a lucid dream to control their dream but also to operate external devices in the real world.
The Experiment of Driving While Sleeping: Proving the Feasibility of the “Dream – Real World” Interface
The “dream – real world” interface from REMspace consists of a central computer connected to a brainwave receiver that enables scientists to monitor the dreamer’s sleep and determine when they are experiencing a lucid dream.
A series of motion sensors will be attached to the muscles in the arms, legs, cheek, chin, and temples to capture the dreamer’s feedback. Meanwhile, scientists will attempt to transmit communication signals through light passing through the dreamer’s eyelids.
Computer interface between dreams and reality.
To begin the experiment, five volunteers will be trained to drive a virtual car – modeled after Tesla’s Cybertruck – on a computer. The training process will occur while the volunteers are awake but must keep their eyes closed.
Researchers from REMspace will project two streams of light into the participants’ eyes to simulate obstacles that need to be avoided. If the car needs to turn left or right, the participants will twitch the corresponding arm. If acceleration is needed, they will twitch both legs to “press the gas.”
Once the participants have mastered the system, they will begin conducting the experiment in their sleep. Electrodes attached to the participants’ heads will help researchers confirm whether they have entered REM sleep and a lucid dream.
After entering a lucid dream, participants signal to researchers that they are ready to drive by performing at least three consecutive eye movements from left to right. Upon receiving the signal, the motor of the virtual car will start, and the actual experiment will begin.
Experiment of driving while asleep.
The report results from the experiment published in the International Journal of Dream Research indicate that while controlling a virtual car in a dream is not easy, some volunteers achieved notable results.
During three nights of sleep in the REMspace laboratory, one volunteer experienced lucid dreams five times and successfully drove the Cybertruck twice. The first time, they executed two controlled turns and then drove straight for a short distance before waking up. The next time, they increased the number of controlled turns and managed to control the speed of the car.
Another participant executed 17 precise turns to avoid obstacles while sleeping, although there was one instance where their legs became paralyzed and they could not twitch their muscles to accelerate.
In total, the five volunteers executed 28 controlled turns to avoid obstacles. These results, while not perfect, are sufficient to suggest the potential of a “dream-real world” interface, allowing people to drive while dreaming.
More Than Just Driving: The “Integration” of Dreams and Reality
Researchers at REMspace believe that with more rigorous training, most people could achieve better results in dream driving experiments. But it won’t stop there.
“Two-way interaction with computers in dreams will open up a new field of technology,” said Michael Raduga, founder of REMspace. “Currently, developments in this field are still very rudimentary, but they will soon change our perceptions of human capabilities.”
A volunteer in the dream driving experiment at REMspace.
In a previous study, the research team at REMspace also used this “dream-real world” interface to help a person send voice commands to their smart home while sleeping.
Muscle movements enabled them to turn on lights, a kettle, or a radio while dreaming.
This latest study provides potential evidence that individuals practicing lucid dreams can “receive feedback” about the status of a system and “respond appropriately”, researchers assert. This is the first step toward the “integration” of the dream world with the real world.
Of course, many challenges remain to be overcome. One of these is improving the body sensors, which currently sometimes fail to detect the small twitches that participants report attempting to make.
However, with future developments and more related research, REMspace believes that they can demonstrate the ability to control physical objects (such as robots, cars, or drones) from human dreams is entirely possible.
Smart home functions could also be conveniently controlled from conscious dreams. Therefore, while we may not yet be able to drive to work through crowded streets while dreaming, turning on a coffee machine while still dreaming in bed at 5:30 AM is not too far-fetched to achieve.
With advancements in the “dream-reality interface” field, humanity is getting closer to realizing capabilities that seem to exist only in dreams.
