Elon Musk uses cyborg pigs to show chip that connects brain to computers
Alyse Stanley - August 29, 2020 @ 5:39 pm
Alyse Stanley - August 29, 2020 @ 5:39 pm
[SHOWTOGROUPS=4,20,22]
Neuralink chip is about the size of a coin. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
Billionaire Elon Musk revealed on Friday (28) more details of Neuralink, a technology startup that is developing a chip that promises to connect the human brain to computers. In a live broadcast, the company demonstrated how it plans to operate the chip using pigs as an example. And none of them seemed really interested in what the owner of Tesla and SpaceX had to show.
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When a pig named Gertrude finally appeared, after a few minutes hiding behind a curtain, a wireless chip link implanted in the animal's brain transmitted the brain activity in real time to a monitor while the pig sniffed a pen on the presentation stage. "It's like a FitBit bracelet on your skull, with very small threads," said Musk, showing the device the size of a coin.
Musk's team also showed another piglet with two simultaneous Neuralink implants, as well as a third pig that had the technology implanted and removed later - the latter perhaps to make it clear that there was no sequel even after removing the chip.
The Gertrude nut, one of the first guinea pigs on the chip. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
It works like this: the chip is inserted into a small hole drilled in the skull and captures signals of brain activity using 1,024 hair-like electrodes, only much thinner than a human hair. The chip then transmits data via Bluetooth to external devices within a radius of about five to ten meters, and can also send information to the brain to stimulate neurons. The battery life of the chip would be for a whole day, and the recharge would happen by induction.
And to put the accessory inside the brain? For this, a robot was created, similar to a sewing machine, that implanted the ultrathin threads in the brain. According to Musk, the surgery does not require general anesthesia, with the entire procedure taking no more than a few hours and leaving no sequelae - just a scar, which would be covered by the hair. Users could be admitted to the hospital in the morning and discharged in the afternoon, on the same day.
The surgical robot that will make the brain implants. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
Since the project's announcement in 2017, Musk has launched several possible applications of how the Neuralink chip could behave in different scenarios. In medical environments, the interfaces between brain and machine can be used to treat disorders such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and depression. They could also work in conjunction with assistive devices, such as to control artificial limbs, for example. Musk added that in the future, the chip could propel our brains to "achieve a kind of symbiosis with artificial intelligence" to avoid a possible apocalypse of the machines.
As crazy and frightening as it may seem, the project already has a certain endorsement from important agencies in the United States. This includes the FDA, a federal health agency equivalent to our Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency). In July, the entity granted Neuralink “innovative device” status, a designation that streamlines its review process and puts it on the path to future approval as a device for medical use.
The first tests on humans will aim to help people who have lost the ability to move after spinal cord injuries. Musk said he was confident that, in the long run, "it will be possible to completely restore body movement" to people who are no longer mobile.
You can watch the full Neuralink broadcast on the player below:
(Collaborated with Caio Carvalho)
[/SHOWTOGROUPS]
Neuralink chip is about the size of a coin. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
Billionaire Elon Musk revealed on Friday (28) more details of Neuralink, a technology startup that is developing a chip that promises to connect the human brain to computers. In a live broadcast, the company demonstrated how it plans to operate the chip using pigs as an example. And none of them seemed really interested in what the owner of Tesla and SpaceX had to show.
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When a pig named Gertrude finally appeared, after a few minutes hiding behind a curtain, a wireless chip link implanted in the animal's brain transmitted the brain activity in real time to a monitor while the pig sniffed a pen on the presentation stage. "It's like a FitBit bracelet on your skull, with very small threads," said Musk, showing the device the size of a coin.
Musk's team also showed another piglet with two simultaneous Neuralink implants, as well as a third pig that had the technology implanted and removed later - the latter perhaps to make it clear that there was no sequel even after removing the chip.
The Gertrude nut, one of the first guinea pigs on the chip. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
It works like this: the chip is inserted into a small hole drilled in the skull and captures signals of brain activity using 1,024 hair-like electrodes, only much thinner than a human hair. The chip then transmits data via Bluetooth to external devices within a radius of about five to ten meters, and can also send information to the brain to stimulate neurons. The battery life of the chip would be for a whole day, and the recharge would happen by induction.
And to put the accessory inside the brain? For this, a robot was created, similar to a sewing machine, that implanted the ultrathin threads in the brain. According to Musk, the surgery does not require general anesthesia, with the entire procedure taking no more than a few hours and leaving no sequelae - just a scar, which would be covered by the hair. Users could be admitted to the hospital in the morning and discharged in the afternoon, on the same day.
The surgical robot that will make the brain implants. Image: Neuralink / YouTube
Since the project's announcement in 2017, Musk has launched several possible applications of how the Neuralink chip could behave in different scenarios. In medical environments, the interfaces between brain and machine can be used to treat disorders such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and depression. They could also work in conjunction with assistive devices, such as to control artificial limbs, for example. Musk added that in the future, the chip could propel our brains to "achieve a kind of symbiosis with artificial intelligence" to avoid a possible apocalypse of the machines.
As crazy and frightening as it may seem, the project already has a certain endorsement from important agencies in the United States. This includes the FDA, a federal health agency equivalent to our Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency). In July, the entity granted Neuralink “innovative device” status, a designation that streamlines its review process and puts it on the path to future approval as a device for medical use.
The first tests on humans will aim to help people who have lost the ability to move after spinal cord injuries. Musk said he was confident that, in the long run, "it will be possible to completely restore body movement" to people who are no longer mobile.
You can watch the full Neuralink broadcast on the player below:
(Collaborated with Caio Carvalho)
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