Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home Tech Seven years of controlling everything only with my brain

Seven years of controlling everything only with my brain

330
0

Many times we have talked about Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company that inserts microchips into the brain to be able to control certain things with the mind. The ultimate goal is that we can become superhuman, but there are still many steps ahead.

And despite the fact that we are talking only about this company, the community is making dozens of attempts in this direction: inserting chips into our brains to control the elements that surround us … like a computer. For paralyzed people, this is a whole world of possibilities.

Nathan Copeland considers himself a cyborg, Wired was told. This 36-year-old man lived with a brain-computer interface for more than seven years and three months. Today is the longest period that anyone has had an implant of this type.


University of Pittsburgh

A set of electrodes the size of a pencil eraser, surgically into the motor cortex of the brain, translates its nerve impulses into commands which allow him to control external devices: a computer, video games and a robotic arm that moves with his thoughts.

A car accident in 2004 left Copeland paralyzed from the chest down, unable to move or feel his limbs. In 2014, he joined the University of Pittsburgh study on people with severe spinal cord injuries to see if the brain-computer interface works.or BCI, can give you back some of the lost functionality.

He signed up without hesitation, although it required brain surgery and no one knew how long the device would continue to work. “When I started, I was told that it would probably last five years. And those five years were based on monkey data, because no human has ever done this before.“, He says.

VIDEO

What is Neuralink?

The fact that Copeland’s implant still works -and did not cause any serious side effects or complications- is promising for this area. This is a sign that these devices, which have been in development since the 1960s, are approaching a commercial reality.

But questions remain about the longevity of implanted matrices.that is, how much their performance will deteriorate over time, and whether they can be improved.

Copeland received his first array in 2015, and later received three more as part of the study., which gives you a total of four active implants. Utah arrays are made of hard silicone and look a bit like comb bristles.

The standard die is a square grid with 100 tiny pins.each of them is one millimeter long and covered with conductive metal.

Because neurons produce electrical fields when they communicate with each other, scientists can use these arrays to capture and record the activity of hundreds of nearby neurons.

To build a brain-computer interface, researchers must translate these neural signals into digital commands that allow the user to control the prosthesis or computer.

The system Copeland uses is called BrainGate.includes an implanted matrix, a cable running from a pedestal on his head to an external device that amplifies his neural signals, and a computer running software to decode those signals.

Source: Computer Hoy

Previous articleAnonymity on Telegram has been hacked. Now they can find you without your phone number.
Next articleTX SCARA robots begin to replace staff in Japanese stores
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here