Elon Muskbrain implant company Neuralink announced Tuesday that it is launching a study to test its implant for a new use: allowing a person to control a robotic arm using only their thoughts. “We are excited to announce the approval and launch of a new feasibility trial to expand BCI control using the N1 implant in an investigational assistive robotic arm,” Neuralink said in a statement. Post on Musk's social media platform,
a BCI, or brain-computer interfaceis a system that allows a person to directly control external devices with their brain waves. It works by reading and decoding desired motion signals from neurons. Neuralink's BCI involves a coin-sized device called the N1 that is surgically implanted in the brain by a robot. The company is currently Security evaluation of its BCIAs well as its ability to control computers in individuals with paralysis.
Moving a computer or artificial hand is not a new achievement for BCI. In 2008A team led by Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh showed that a monkey could control a robotic arm to feed itself using signals from its brain. After that, the researchers moved on to human volunteers. one in 2012 study published in journal NatureTwo people paralyzed due to stroke were able to guide a robotic arm to reach and grab objects by simply thinking about it. For the first time in 14 years, a man was able to serve himself coffee. In Another study from 2016A man with a BCI regained his sense of touch using a robotic arm.
The BCIs used in those studies were awkward setups that required running a cable from research participants' heads to a computer that decoded brain signals. In contrast, Neuralink's system is wireless.
But Social media earlier this yearNeuralink demonstrated that its BCI could be used to control a computer cursor. one in video on xStudy participant Noland Arbaugh was shown using a Neuralink device to play chess and other games on a computer. Arbaugh, who became a quadriplegic after a swimming accident in 2016, Spoke to WIRED earlier this year About how the transplant has given him a sense of freedom.
Arbaugh underwent brain surgery in January to receive the Neuralink implant, but a few weeks later, the device the problem has startedThe implant consists of 64 thin, flexible wire threads that insert into the brain tissue. Each thread has 16 electrodes that collect nerve signals. In a blog post from May, Neuralink said that several threads had retracted from Arbaugh's brain, causing him to temporarily lose cursor control. Neuralink was able to restore Arbaugh's control by making its brain recording algorithms more sensitive and modifying the way nerve signals are translated into cursor movements.