China has made another amazing breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, introducing such an advanced technology, through which a person can control a robot with only his thoughts, without any physical movement or brain surgery.
Experts say that if this system proves to be successful in practice, it could bring revolutionary changes to the world of disabled people, the industrial sector and robotics.
Chinese company BrainCo demonstrated its new ‘brain-to-robot’ technology at the World AI Conference 2026 in Shanghai. According to the company, the system does not require a chip or implant inside the brain, but the user simply wears a lightweight headset that records the brain’s electrical activity, or EEG signals.
Artificial intelligence-based software then analyzes these signals, tries to understand the user’s intent, and then instructs the robot to move accordingly. For example, if a person simply imagines lifting a cup in their mind, the robotic arm will understand this gesture and lift the cup.
During a hands-on demonstration at the conference, a robotic arm surprised attendees by lifting a cup using only brain signals. The company says the technology is not limited to robotic arms but can also control humanoid robots and robotic dogs.
According to BrainCo, the system is not too complicated to use. The company claims that even a researcher with no previous experience with brain-computer interfaces can learn to operate a robot with just their thoughts after about 10 minutes of training.
The technology also differs from the approach of Neuralink, the company of American billionaire Elon Musk. Neuralink requires surgery to install a chip inside the brain, while BrainCo’s system reads brain signals through an external headset, so no surgery or implant is required.
According to experts, if this technology proves effective and reliable in the future, people with physical disabilities will be able to operate artificial limbs, robotic arms or wheelchairs with just mental signals. In addition, the connection between humans and machines in industry, research and robotics will be made faster and more effective than ever before.
It should be noted that ‘Brain Co’ was founded in 2015 and is considered one of China’s fastest-growing technology companies. The company is active in the fields of artificial intelligence, brain-computer interface and robotics. However, the company’s claim that it is the world’s first integrated ‘brain-to-robot’ system has not yet been independently verified. Experts say that the true potential, accuracy and potential for widespread use of this technology can only be assessed after further independent scientific experiments and research studies.