Neuralink CEO, Elon Musk, has revealed a ground-breaking advancement in the company's brain chip technology: Neuralink's innovative intervention has allowed blind monkeys to recover their sight.
Neuralink's upcoming device, "Blindsight," aims to assist individuals who are completely blind in regaining their vision. According to Musk, this comes after the creation of "telepathy," a device that lets people operate computers just with their minds, as reported by The Independent.
Elon Musk claims that the Blindsight technology has already shown promise in animal trials. He said the first resolution may be low, like early Nintendo graphics, but it could "exceed normal human vision" in the future.
(Photo : ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Tesla and Neuralink CEO Elon Musk holds his son X Æ A-XII during a visit at the company's electric car plant in Gruenheide near Berlin, eastern Germany, on March 13, 2024, as employees resumed work after production had to be halted due to a suspected arson attack that caused a power outage.
No Monkeys Were Harmed
In response to worries over the treatment of animals, the tech mogul said that no monkeys used in Neuralink's research had died or suffered serious injuries.
Restoring neuronal networks from the brain to the body is the main goal of Neuralink, and according to Elon Musk, this will include eyesight. A Neuralink surgical robot implants 64 small wires into the brain's visual cortex, enabling visual experiences without the need for the eye.
Users would wear a digital camera to make this procedure easier, wirelessly sending a live visual feed to a mobile device via Bluetooth. The phone would convert the visual input into brain signals and send them back to the Neuralink chip, enabling the person to see the visuals, per the Daily Star.
Neuralink's promise to revolutionize vision restoration for the visually handicapped met Elon Musk's announcement with enthusiasm.
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Arbaugh spoke about how his recuperation from the operation went well and how he was able to use only his thoughts to operate the computer's mouse pointer. Neuralink was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of their brain implant technology through his successful recovery.
Neuralink Offers Hope for The Handicapped
The live webcast was an important turning point for Neuralink because it provided verifiable proof of the brain chip technology's potential in human trials, supporting Musk's previous claims.
Neuralink CEO Elon Musk called this experiment "telepathy," allowing computer control by mind. After learning how to control the cursor and play music, Arbaugh used the Neuralink chip to play computer games like Civilization VI and Chess.
Livestream of @Neuralink demonstrating “Telepathy” – controlling a computer and playing video games just by thinking https://t.co/0kHJdayfYy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 20, 2024
Arbaugh could now play games for up to eight hours without the need for mouthstick recharges.
In late 2023, Neuralink began conducting its first human trials as part of the PRIME Study initiative. After receiving US FDA regulatory permission, the goal of these experiments is to verify claims that they allow device control via brain processes.
Following Neuralink's milestones, China declared its ambitions to establish a "brain-computer interface," with commercial releases scheduled for 2025, as previously reported by TechTimes.
