One of new Twitter boss Elon Musk’s more obscure projects is called “Neuralink” – a solution which, in short, consists of “fusing” humans with technology using tiny wires in the brain. Now the technology has received an in-depth presentation.
In a live broadcast On Thursday, the Neuralink technology was both explained and described in detail by Musk himself and several of his employees. We’ve also been given a window of time for when the technology will be tested in humans – about six months into the future, according to Musk.
The broadcast, which you can see at the bottom of the article, lasted over two hours.
Works with a specially designed robot
Among the news shared on stage was the actual implant that will be operated on in the brains of people who choose to use the technology. It has a diameter of about 2.4 centimeters, is wireless and has 1,024 “channels” capable of recording brain signals. The battery is charged wirelessly.
Last but not least, a demonstration was made of the robot that will operate on the wires of the brain. Neuralink has created its own robot to handle this process, a process that requires extreme precision and caution. Admittedly, the demonstration was carried out on an artificial brain this time.
In short, the technology works in that the wires that are operated in the brain pick up the electrical fields that are generated when the brain cell “emits” electrical signals. These signals are sent by stimulation of so-called dendrites – the part of the brain cell that receives incoming signals from other cells via synapses.
Many areas of use
By capturing these fields, the tiny wires, which act as electrodes, should be able to register the information represented in the brain cell. These electrodes are capable of both reading and “writing”. In other words, not only do they record information, but they can also restore signals elsewhere in the brain.
This may have many important applications in medicine, such as repairing paralysis or curing brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, which the technology was originally intended to be used for.
During the recent presentation of the technology, it was explained, among other things, that the solution can be used to compensate for damage to the spinal cord, where the nerve signals from the brain to the muscles are broken. However, the potential applications are numerous.
Neuralink has demonstrated the technology in the past, in the form of a monkey who allegedly played the computer game Pong using the Neuralink solution.
However, some have expressed skepticism of the concept, and the company has had a few setbacks as well. Among other things, one of the company’s co-founders left Skuta last year.
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