Remote-controlled humans

New Scientist reports that

[b]y remotely stimulating a person's vestibular system - the fluid-filled tubes in the inner ear that guide their sense of balance - with electrodes placed on the skin just below the ear, researchers at NTT's research laboratories in Kanagawa have found a way to turn humans into oversized radio controlled vehicles. See the system in action, here (8 MB, Mpg format).

The technique, known as galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS), unbalances a person so that they automatically veer left or right in an attempt to rebalance themselves. The NTT team developed a headset and a control unit similar to that used with remote-controlled toy cars. …

[A] US patent already exists for using GVS as a virtual reality tool. The approach was pioneered in the late 1990s by a company called Virtual Motion.