On August 28 , the presentation of the Neuralink company  took place ,  where its founder, well-known for everyone, Elon   Musk, was speaking  about the latest achievements in the field of  brain chip  technology . Meanwhile, the American billionaire could not refrain from commenting on Twitter  and announced one of the potential opportunities of this technology. 

Computer technology specialist Austin Howard asked Musk if he could one day use  the Neuralink interface  to listen to music. According to Musk, such a possibility will indeed appear.

Thus, with the help of the chip, sound waves will be sent directly to the brain, bypassing the ear and the pre-double elusive nerve responsible for the transmission of auditory impulses, as well as impulses emanating from the vestibular section of the inner ear.

Sound transmission based on bone conduction technology is no surprise to anyone today, but sound transmission directly through neuron stimulation is really something new. 

According to Musk, early versions of the device Neuralink will restore the destroyed neural connections in those people who have such diseases as Parkinson's disease.

Of course, such expensive research should somehow pay off, two options for commercial use are already known:

If everything is clear in the first case, then in the second there are many questions. For example, how the company will negotiate with the copyright holders, will they spit on the copyright holders with their royalty free music, and services like Spotify will not survive, or they will only use no-copyright music

Founded by Elon Musk, Neuralink has introduced a new version of a neural interface that allows you to connect the brain to a computer. It is based on a coin-sized Link chip that needs to be implanted into the brain. It should allow you to fight various diseases, including memory loss, strokes, as well as paralysis of the limbs and Alzheimer's disease.

 

The operation itself must be performed by a special robot, and without any anesthesia. The implantation process will take about an hour. The technology has not yet been tested in humans, but the implant was inserted into two experimental pigs, one of which was shown at the presentation.

 

To realize the conceived Musk requires fresh brains.  The head of Neuralink announced via Twitter that he is looking for new talented engineers with an understanding of sound technology.

 

During the presentation he presented a revised version of  the neural-interface, answered questions and showed the results of work on two pigs - they successfully implanted a chip and read brain activity.

He said that  Neuralink is primarily designed to treat diseases such as paralysis, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The presentation is aimed at finding talented professionals to work on the project, rather than collecting investments, said Musk. 

 The billionaire compared the new version of Neuralink with other neural interfaces and the previous prototype - according to him, the previous version with an external BTE transmitter was too cumbersome.

Now all electronics are placed in the chip, the size of 23x8mm - it was called Link.

It is placed under the skin and through the skull is connected by threads to the brain. The chip is completely hidden after implantation and is not felt by the owner, merges with the bone of the skull and is not visible from the outside.

  • The new chip is more functional and productive than all previous models of  neuro-interfaces. For example, it can broadcast music and work with various devices over a Bluetooth connection. 
  • The number of electrodes for information transmission from neurons decreased from 3072 to 1024.
  • The reading of brain activity takes place inside the chip, and data from the chip and to the chip are transmitted wirelessly - will be developed a mobile application to control Neuralink. The range of  action  is  up to  10  meters. 
  • The main task of the team is to create a durable device that can operate without degradation for decades.

Remarkably, the implantable chip requires daily recharge. This process will be performed using wireless magnetic charging. That is, carriers of such technologies will have to plug themselves into an outlet every night ...

 

Wireless charging similar to Apple  Watch charger 

The implantation of the chip is performed by a fully automatic robot-surgeon - he drills a small hole in the skull and connects the Link  to the brain through the flexible threads. 

 Musk promises that the operation is performed within an hour and can be performed without anesthesia - there is no risk and damage to the tissues and nervous system, and you can leave the clinic the same day.

After the operation, the place of operation becomes overgrown, and people will not even suspect that the person has a neural implant. 

 The work of the device Musk showed on two pigs, which were successfully implanted chips two months before the demonstration.

"It's like Fitbit with small wires in your skull. In front of you is a healthy and happy piggy with an implant, which has been standing for a couple of months and works perfectly.”

Elon  Musk 

Removal of the implant does not affect the nervous system function: one of the pigs had his chip removed, the animal continues to feel good. Therefore, the Neuralink  can be removed or upgraded to a more current model, if you wish, without harming your health. 

During the presentation, the screens showed the indicators of the pig's brain activity: the chip tracked the activity of the animal's tactile center of brain and reacted to the patch's touching objects.

The interface can work finely with the nervous system. For example, when a pig found food with a patch, the chip recorded the peak activity of neurons.

So far ,Musk has demonstrated only the reading of brain signals, but in the future Neuralink plans that the device can not only read, but also record information - for medicinal purposes.

Diseases that new technology can cure

Musk said that in July 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted Neuralink as an innovative product. Current safety tests show maximum scores in all categories.

The company is also preparing for the first human tests and is waiting for checks and permits and licenses.

 

On Twitter Neuralink you can ask questions to the device team.

After the presentation , theNeuralinkteam  answered several questions from journalists. The main thing:

  • The chip is safe to install, it is made by a 6-nanometer process. It is  not the  final  product, the device  will  improve. 
  • Read and write speeds from chip to chip will not be comparable with PC delays.  Prototype delay   is  less than  nanosecond. 
  • In the future, the chip can be used to control the Tesla - for example, by consciously calling the car from the parking lot.
  •  The chip supports API for application development.
  • Neuralink  can be used for control in games.  Musk promised that the chip will support StarCraft. 
  • The team plans to use an additional implant to help restore the entire nervous system. The speed of information transfer will allow people with paralysis to walk and move without additional help - only by the nervous system.
  • The implant will also allow you to work with the memory system, including the muscle.
  • The pigs were used for tests for two reasons: they look like people and love food very much.
  • The technology has great potential in all fields of activity: from development in neurospace  to simulation of vision for blind people. 
  • The chip and its installation at first "will be expensive, but the price will fall quickly" - to several thousand dollars, including the operation.

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