Today, the company invested by Elon Musk has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and announced breakthrough achievements: “sewing” machines with human brains

Elon Musk wants to attach your brain to your computer with a simple, safe and quick step like using an eye laser.

On Tuesday evening, local time, Neuralink – an enterprise invested by Musk in 100 million USD – announced the first steps to achieve the above objectives. Neuralink describes a “robot-like” robot system that can place ultra-thin paths deep into your brain. This stage explains why Neuralink compares the machine to the “sewing machine”.

According to the development roadmap, they will have their first human test in the second quarter of 2020.

This is just an illustration of Neuralink’s system. Scientists assume the ear-wear device will attach directly to the brain through an ultra-thin extension cord.

Neuralink claims the system can read and write a huge amount of data. But like Musk’s other future projects, similar to the most powerful missiles on the planet or a tunnel to block traffic, Musk’s vision depends on the ability of modern technology and the talent of Scientists are working for Neuralink.

A system that connects the brain directly to a computer will allow users to speed up interaction between people and computers, opening new possibilities for people. This idea is no longer new, as the line of cyberpunk science fiction is gaining popularity.

As in the fictional novel Neuromancer released by William Gibson in 1984, the character in the story uses a technology called “microsoft”, a small tape that is inserted directly into the brain, immediately providing information. believe for users. The name Neuromancer is also not new, as it is one of the important literary works that mark the growth of cyberpunk in popular culture.

Neuralink also acknowledges the way ahead they are very long. It can’t be rushed, because if you extrapolate, Neuralink is trying to evolve people, by harmonizing the brain with a machine. During the press conference, they announced their willingness to discuss this issue publicly.

“We do not want the burden of secrecy on our shoulders, to be able to freely build technology and work like others, for example, the freedom to publish scientific research reports, for example,” Max Hodak , chairman of Neuralink and also one of the founders of the company said.

A microprocessor will lie on the surface of the brain, receiving data from electrodes that are located a few centimeters deep below the surface of the brain.

Elon Musk did not appear at the press conference, but we can still see his efforts in this industry. Musk still seeks to solve the technology limitations that Neuralink faces, according to Shivon ZIlis, project manager at Neuralink. Currently, Neuralink has received about 158 ​​million USD in investment capital and has 90 employees.

The brain-computer interface may still be a bit far-fetched, but its medical potential has been revealed. Someday – maybe soon, people with disabilities will be able to regain the possibilities they have lost, or were born missing. A machine that attaches directly to the user’s brain will allow the visually impaired to look back, the hearing impaired hear the sound and the deaf find the voice again; When extrapolated, three people’s hearing – vision – speaking abilities can be enhanced by Neuralink ‘s system.

Obviously this is the technology of the future.

Neuralink said that they might have to drill a hole in the skull to plug the ultra-thin wire into the brain. But in the future, they want the laser system to drill tiny holes in the skull, to put the wires in easily and painlessly.

“One of the current problems is that the drilling system will cause the entire head to vibrate, uncomfortable at all, but laser drilling will not make you feel any vibration,” chairman Hodak said.

Expected, Neuralink will work with brain surgeons at Stanford University, most likely with other research institutes, to conduct testing. Jaimie Henderson, professor of brain anatomy at Stanford, a specialist in epilepsy treatment and has extensive experience in the treatment of diseases with the Deep Brain Simulator, the main advisor of Neuralink.

This robot system will place wires into the brain. Neuralink compares this to a sewing machine.

In a test that took place on Monday, Neuralink announced a system that connects the white mouse brain, capable of reading information from 1,500 electrodes – 15 times better than the system currently applied on humans. That is enough for scientific research or for the health sector.

However, the success in mice cannot be an affirmation for human trials. Neuralink must have research results on people to convince the world. Currently, the Belgian company Imec with Neuropixels technology is a leader in the industry, with devices capable of retrieving data from thousands of different brain cells.

The most famous technology of Neuralink is that they can place paths close to neurons – tiny cells that build the brain. The ability to capture information from a huge number of cells to transfer to computers for analysis purposes is an important step for us to understand the human brain itself.

With tiny needles and a computer-based observation system, information wires are cleverly placed in the brain, avoiding the blood vessels on the surface of the brain. The Neuralink technique in use would be to put a series of wires into the brain, one wire the size of người diameter of a human hair.

The wires are wires sandwiched between a cellophane-like layer of material, connecting a series of electrodes together. Can imagine it as a series of tiny pearls that are put into the brain.

Neuralink will take them and different places in the brain, with different depths, depending on the test or the characteristic needed. The flexibility of wires is a plus, but Neuralink still needs to prove that wires can last long in the brain.

Neuralink is not alone in this race. Over the past decade, the Pentagon has funded a series of basic brain research, in addition to developing systems that allow robot control with the brain. The DARPA Advanced Defense Projects Agency had the first products: the system allows control of prosthetic limbs to perform some basic actions.

No matter who is developing future technologies, applications that can only be seen in the fantasy world of cyberpunk are finding their way into the real world.

Refer to the New York Times