I controlled a robot arm with my brain, using this high-tech headset

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Tanya EEG headset

Tanya Lewis/Business Insider

Jedi masters aren't the only ones who can move things with their minds.

For about $450, you can buy a 3D-printed headset that records your brainwaves and converts them into signals that can control everything from a robot arm to a remote-controlled helicopter.

And you don't need to have brain surgery to operate it!

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A Brooklyn-based company called OpenBCI (short for brain computer interface) makes these headsets and sells them to students and hobbyists. And unlike most commercial products on the market, all of their software and hardware plans are open source.

I visited their lab in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to try it out myself. Here's what it was like:

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