Scientists from MIT claim to have found a way to control dreams. The device is called Dormio (Latin for I Sleep) and their slogan is 'interfacing with dreams'.
It all occurs in a natural state call hypnagogia, which is the phase where we transition from wakefulness to sleep. This is a state where we are able to access our unconscious and often have dreams even though we might not feel fully asleep. It is said to be a very creative state and thinkers and artists throughout history have used this state to help them with their work. Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Salvadore Dali are just some of the famous names who used hypnagogia to help them access deeper thoughts.
The device - worn on the hand - uses biosignals to detect when a person is transitioning out of hypnagogia into non-REM sleep. Dormio then stops the transition with a sound. This wakes a person from out of deep sleep but not into a fully wakeful state. The scientists claim that when the audio used to interrupt the transition is a word then this word becomes part of the person's dreams. The researchers used the words 'fork' and 'rabbit' to successfully influence the dreams of their subjects.
The device is not available to buy as yet but the technology is open source.
You can view the official MIT page for Dormio here: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/sleep-creativity/overview/