Billionaire Elon Musk said at the Show and Tell event that Neuralink will launch human clinical trials of the neural interface (BCI) in the next six months.
According to the businessman, in the future, such a device will also be implanted in his brain.
Musk said the company has provided most of the documents needed to test the system to the Food and Drug Administration. He previously predicted human trials would begin in 2020 and then in 2022.
The goal of Neuralink is to create a device that allows you to control a computer with the power of thought. Back in 2019, the company announced the launch of BCI testing in primates, and later in pigs.
In 2021, Musk showed how a monkey plays pong with the help of a neural interface implanted in the brain.
Now Neuralink has demonstrated the ability to “telepathically print” text – the primate wrote “Welcome to Show and Tell” with the power of thought. The device converted the neural impulses into data for interpretation by a computer.
The monkey tracked the keys highlighted in yellow on the screen by the developers. The implanted N1 chip recorded brain activity to control cursor movements.
Later, company researchers showed a pig with BCI on a treadmill. According to them, the experiment will help to study ways to solve problems with mobility in humans.
Neuralink’s highly invasive small neurointerfaces have several flexible mini-electrodes that need to be integrated into the brain tissue.
“It’s like replacing part of your skull with a smartwatch for lack of a better analogue,” Musk said.
According to co-founder Dongjin Seo, a special robotic system can implant 64 such “threads” within 15 minutes. He also showed the process of implantation on a mannequin.
The reason for the involvement of the robotic surgeon is the “tininess” of the mini-electrodes.
“Imagine taking a hair from your head and inserting it into a wraparound jelly, doing everything with a certain amount of precision and depth, 64 times in a row and in a reasonable amount of time,” said equipment manager Christine Odabashian.
According to Musk’s predictions, in the future implantation will become literally an outpatient procedure. However, the system must also be easy to update, he added.
“I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to have an iPhone 1 in your head when the iPhone 14 is available,” Musk said.
In addition, the company’s researchers are working on implants to restore vision and devices that can restore mobility to patients with spinal cord injuries.
Recall that in February, animal rights activists accused Neuralink of causing “great suffering” to experimental monkeys. Since 2017, only seven out of 23 primates have survived during neuroimplant testing.
In May, Elon Musk invited experts in smartwatches and smartphones to join Neuralink to work on neural interfaces.
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Billionaire Elon Musk said at the Show and Tell event that Neuralink will launch human clinical trials of the neural interface (BCI) in the next six months.
According to the businessman, in the future, such a device will also be implanted in his brain.
Musk said the company has provided most of the documents needed to test the system to the Food and Drug Administration. He previously predicted human trials would begin in 2020 and then in 2022.
The goal of Neuralink is to create a device that allows you to control a computer with the power of thought. Back in 2019, the company announced the launch of BCI testing in primates, and later in pigs.
In 2021, Musk showed how a monkey plays pong with the help of a neural interface implanted in the brain.
Now Neuralink has demonstrated the ability to “telepathically print” text – the primate wrote “Welcome to Show and Tell” with the power of thought. The device converted the neural impulses into data for interpretation by a computer.
The monkey tracked the keys highlighted in yellow on the screen by the developers. The implanted N1 chip recorded brain activity to control cursor movements.
Later, company researchers showed a pig with BCI on a treadmill. According to them, the experiment will help to study ways to solve problems with mobility in humans.
Neuralink’s highly invasive small neurointerfaces have several flexible mini-electrodes that need to be integrated into the brain tissue.
“It’s like replacing part of your skull with a smartwatch for lack of a better analogue,” Musk said.
According to co-founder Dongjin Seo, a special robotic system can implant 64 such “threads” within 15 minutes. He also showed the process of implantation on a mannequin.
The reason for the involvement of the robotic surgeon is the “tininess” of the mini-electrodes.
“Imagine taking a hair from your head and inserting it into a wraparound jelly, doing everything with a certain amount of precision and depth, 64 times in a row and in a reasonable amount of time,” said equipment manager Christine Odabashian.
According to Musk’s predictions, in the future implantation will become literally an outpatient procedure. However, the system must also be easy to update, he added.
“I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to have an iPhone 1 in your head when the iPhone 14 is available,” Musk said.
In addition, the company’s researchers are working on implants to restore vision and devices that can restore mobility to patients with spinal cord injuries.
Recall that in February, animal rights activists accused Neuralink of causing “great suffering” to experimental monkeys. Since 2017, only seven out of 23 primates have survived during neuroimplant testing.
In May, Elon Musk invited experts in smartwatches and smartphones to join Neuralink to work on neural interfaces.
Subscribe to Cryplogger news in Telegram: Cryplogger AI – all the news from the world of AI!
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