06.01.2009 — Scientists in London are close to perfecting a smart home system that is controlled by the user's thoughts.

The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) uses electrodes attached to the scalp that allow the user to turn lights off and on, change the channel on the TV or open a door "by just thinking about it," according to Science Daily.

g.tec, an Austrian medical engineering company, developed the (BCI) to assist the disabled. But it could have applications for the general population. g.tec teamed with several international universities to test the BCI technology in a smart home created in virtual reality. Check out the video below.

"[The virtual smart home] has a kitchen, bathroom, living room … everything a normal home would have," says g.tec CEO Christoph Guger. "People are able to move through [the virtual smart home] just by thinking about where they wanted to go."

The electrodes are similar to the ones used by doctors for an Electroencephalogram (EEG). According to Science Daily, the BCI learns to identify the "distinctive patterns of neuronal activity produced when they imagine walking forwards, flicking on a light switch or turning up the radio."