Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink announced Tuesday that it will begin research to test implants for a new use: allowing humans to control robotic arms using just their thoughts. “We are pleased to announce the approval and initiation of a new feasibility study to extend BCI control using the N1 implant to clinical trial support robotic arms,” Neuralink said in a post on Musk’s social media platform X. ” he said.
BCI (Brain Computer Interface) is a system that allows humans to directly control external devices using brain waves. It works by reading and decoding intended movement signals from neurons. Neuralink’s BCI includes a coin-sized device called N1 that is surgically implanted into the brain by a robot. The company is currently evaluating the BCI’s safety and ability to control computers in people with paralysis.
Powering computers and prosthetic arms is nothing new for BCI. In 2008, a team of researchers led by Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh showed that monkeys can use signals from their brains to control a robotic arm and feed themselves. The researchers then moved on to human volunteers. In a 2012 study published in Nature, two people paralyzed by strokes were able to guide a robotic arm to reach and grab objects just by thinking. One person was able to make his own coffee for the first time in 14 years. In another 2016 study, a man with BCI regained his sense of touch using a robotic arm.
The BCIs used in these studies were clumsy setups that required cables to run from the research participants’ heads to the computers that decoded brain signals. In contrast, Neuralink’s system is wireless.
Neuralink demonstrated on social media earlier this year that its BCI could be used to control a computer’s cursor. X’s video showed study participant Noland Arbaugh playing chess and other games on a computer using a Neuralink device. Arbaugh, who became a quadriplegic after a swimming accident in 2016, spoke to WIRED earlier this year about how the implants have given her a sense of independence.
Arbaugh underwent brain surgery in January to have a Neuralink implant inserted, but a few weeks later the device started malfunctioning. The implant has 64 thin, flexible wire threads that penetrate the brain tissue. Each thread contains 16 electrodes that collect neural signals. Neuralink said in a blog post in May that several threads receded from Arbaugh’s brain, causing him to temporarily lose cursor control. Neuralink was able to restore control to Arbor by modifying the brain recording algorithm to be more sensitive and changing the way neural signals are translated into cursor movement.
(Tag Translation) Neuroscience
