Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, announced Tuesday that it will launch 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 extend BCI control using the N1 implant to an investigational assistive robotic arm,” Neuralink said in a statement. post on Musk’s X social media platform.
A BCI, or brain-computer interface, is a system that allows a person to directly control external devices with their brain waves. It works by reading and decoding expected movement signals from neurons. Neuralink’s BCI involves a coin-sized device called the N1 that is surgically implanted into the brain by a robot. The company is currently Evaluating the safety of your BCIas well as their ability to control a computer in people with paralysis.
Moving a computer or prosthetic arm is not a new feat for BCIs. In 2008A team led by Andrew Schwartz of 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. in a 2012 study published in the magazine NatureTwo people paralyzed due to a stroke were able to guide a robotic arm to reach and grab objects simply by thinking about them. One was able to pour herself 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 were clunky setups that required running a cable from research participants’ heads to a computer that decoded brain signals. In contrast, the Neuralink system is wireless.
Earlier this year, on social media, Neuralink demonstrated that its BCI can be used to control a computer cursor. in a video in Xstudy participant Noland Arbaugh was shown using the 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 implant has given him a sense of independence.
Arbaugh underwent brain surgery in January to receive the Neuralink implant, but a few weeks later, the device began to malfunction. The implant has 64 thin, flexible wire strands that penetrate the brain tissue. Each thread contains 16 electrodes that collect neural signals. In a May blog post, Neuralink said that several threads had been removed 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 make it more sensitive and changing the way it translates neural signals into cursor movements.