Every tenth of a second is crucial in a car race, so how do you improve the performance of a Formula E driver? By understanding how his brain works. A better connection between the driver and his car yields better results, and that’s exactly what Nissan is aiming for with its new training program that uses electrical brain stimulation.
"Nissan Brain to Performance" is Nissan’s latest plan to enhance the driving skills of its Formula E racers, and it will be tested first on Sebastien Buemi and Oliver Rowland. It’s a complex program involving monitoring, analyzing, training, and improving the brain functions of the drivers, which would translate to improved consistency, speed, and reaction on the racing track.
The program consists of several stages, with the first one focusing on understanding the brains’ electrical activity and how it enables drivers to perform the way they do when they’re racing. Their brains’ activity will be compared against a control group of average drivers who are not involved in racing activities.
Based on the results of the analysis, the program will develop bespoke, optimized training meant to enhance those brain functions and the anatomy related to driving and racing, as explained by Nissan. Electrical brain stimulation will be used in the Nissan Brain to Performance program as a key method to improve the racer’s performance.
According to Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, brain analysis and training specialist, who coordinates Nissan’s program, the human brain is incredibly powerful as it is, being able to help us perform a multitude of critical functions every second we drive our cars. Not only that, but it is capable of doing it all under intense pressure and at great speed. Learning how it manages to do it will be a key aspect that will help racers push the boundaries of on-track performance in Formula E.
Nissan hopes that this is just the beginning, but in the future, this knowledge could be used to also improve the skills of the average driver.
The program consists of several stages, with the first one focusing on understanding the brains’ electrical activity and how it enables drivers to perform the way they do when they’re racing. Their brains’ activity will be compared against a control group of average drivers who are not involved in racing activities.
Based on the results of the analysis, the program will develop bespoke, optimized training meant to enhance those brain functions and the anatomy related to driving and racing, as explained by Nissan. Electrical brain stimulation will be used in the Nissan Brain to Performance program as a key method to improve the racer’s performance.
According to Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, brain analysis and training specialist, who coordinates Nissan’s program, the human brain is incredibly powerful as it is, being able to help us perform a multitude of critical functions every second we drive our cars. Not only that, but it is capable of doing it all under intense pressure and at great speed. Learning how it manages to do it will be a key aspect that will help racers push the boundaries of on-track performance in Formula E.
Nissan hopes that this is just the beginning, but in the future, this knowledge could be used to also improve the skills of the average driver.