By Hifsa Raja ISLAMABAD, May 18 (INP-WealthPK): The Nutech Innovation Centre in the National University of Technology, Islamabad, has recently developed the prototype of gesture motion and mind control technology in cars. These prototypes can have a massive impact after commercialization. Dr. Qamar Wali, Project Director of Gesture Motion Car of Nutech Innovation Centre, told WealthPK this project comes under International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT). “We arrange one-month competition of ICAT for the students in which they develop new and innovative prototypes that are technology related. And recently, students have developed that mind control car, whose prototype is present here in Nutech,” he said. “This car has been developed for people who have lost muscle power due to some disease, who are disabled by birth, lost muscle movement in wars or due to some accident. It is specifically for the people who cannot handle the steering of the car. Now they can control the car by just their gesture,” he said. All the functions in this car are being controlled by sensors. One is the transmitter and the other is the receiver. The transmitter is attached to the hands of the person, whereas the receiver is placed in the prototype. These two communicate with each other, when a driver gives it a command. ‘‘We have made the advanced feature of gesture control that is the mind control. No one has earlier worked on it in Pakistan. This mind control carrier can be a vehicle and it can also be the wheelchair. Now people in need will be able to control the vehicles with mind signals,” he said. Dr. Qamar said the gesture motion is really complex, and people thought that this prototype will not work. “But we proved them wrong and developed a fully functional prototype that is now present in the Nutech Innovation Centre,” he said. About the vehicle navigation control, Dr. Qamar said that the driver needs to think about the direction and blink his/her eye. This is how the mind signals will transmit to the receiver within seconds. “Dean of Research Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Badar is also very fond of such technology projects, keen to industrialize new tech innovations, their funding and commercialization,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to government funding of new projects and mass production of already developed prototypes. Muhammad Saud, Additional Director of Directorate General of Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told WealthPK that the government is supporting such new and innovative projects. He praised the mind control prototype developed by Nutech Innovative Centre. “We support such initiatives because we want to promote science and technology,” he said. While talking about the funding process, he said people who have prototype submit their proposal and after evaluation, the funding is granted. He mentioned a recently funded project that is a device for visually-impaired people. This device can tell a visually-impaired person about the directions and  obstacles in the way. He mentioned that a Science and Technology Museum is being established in Mardan district of KP province which will benefit the people of the region, particularly the students.