Elon Muskbrain implant company, Neural connectionannounced on Tuesday that it is launching a study to test its implant for a new use: allowing a person to control a robotic arm with just their thoughts. “We are pleased to announce the approval and launch of a new feasibility trial to expand the control of BCI using the N1 implant for a research-supported robotic arm,” Neuralink said in a statement. report. post on Musk’s social media platform X.
BCI, or brain-computer interfaceis a system that allows a person to directly control external devices using their brain waves. It works by reading and decoding intended movement signals from nerve cells. Neuralink’s BCI consists of a coin-sized device called N1 that is surgically implanted in the brain by a robot. The company is currently evaluate the safety of its BCIas well as the ability to control computers in paralyzed people.
Moving computers or prosthetic arms is nothing new for BCI. IN 2008A team led by Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh has demonstrated that a monkey can control a robotic arm to feed itself using signals from its brain. The researchers then turned to human volunteers. in one research in 2012 Published in the journal Nature, two people paralyzed by strokes were able to instruct a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects simply by thinking about it. One person was able to serve himself coffee for the first time in 14 years. IN Another study from 2016A man with BCI regained his sense of touch using a robotic arm.
The BCIs used in those studies are complex setups that require running a cable from the study participant’s head to a computer that decodes brain signals. In contrast, Neuralink’s system is wireless.
ABOVE social media earlier this yearNeuralink has demonstrated that its BCI can be used to control a computer cursor. in one videos on XStudy participant Noland Arbaugh is shown using a Neuralink device to play chess and other computer games. Arbaugh, who became a quadriplegic after a swimming accident in 2016, spoke to WIRED earlier this year about how the implant has given him a sense of independence.
Arbaugh had brain surgery in January to receive the Neuralink implant, but a few weeks later, the device failed. started having problems. The implant has 64 thin, flexible wires that penetrate brain tissue. Each fiber contains 16 electrodes that collect nerve signals. In a blog post from May, Neuralink said some fibers had withdrawn from Arbaugh’s brain, causing him to temporarily lose control of the cursor. Neuralink was able to restore Arbaugh’s control by modifying its brain recording algorithm to be more sensitive and changing the way neural signals were translated into cursor movements.
