Neuralink

Introduction

Elon Musk’s ambitious project of connecting the human brain to the internet
to help control machines is almost at the stage of being released for
commercial use.
The goal of the company, for those who don’t know, is to develop neural
interfaces (connections between electronic devices and your brain), with
the goal of being able to monitor your brain activity (in the demo we can
see how it can precisely track the joint movements of pigs) and eventually
also be able to cure certain diseases by not only monitoring, but also
acting.

What is Neuralink ?

Neuralink is a device that will be surgically implanted into your brain and
with it, you’ll be able to communicate with machines and even control them.

The device, which has the size of a large coin, would be placed inside your
head through a fully automated procedure, by a highly precise robot that
makes an incision in your skull, removes a coin-sized chunk of it, replaces
it with The Link, and makes the connections of the micro-cables to your
brain. It is through these insanely small conducts that the signals from your
neurons would be transmitted to the device.

It will also help study the electrical signals in the brain and arrive at
solutions that can help cure various medical problems.
With Neuralink a chipset, called N1 chipset, will be installed in your skull
which is 8mm in diameter and has multiple wires housing electrodes and
insulation for the wires.
These wires will be surgically placed inside your brain using a robot. As per
the company, the wire is as thick as the neurons in your brain and thinner
than a strand of hair at 100 micrometres. To compare, imagine the diameter
of your hair, and then divide that diameter by ten.
Max Hodak, the president of Neuralink, says that you can place more than
one device to target different sections of your brain.

On What Tech Does Neuralink Work ?

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a technology which allows a human to
control a computer, peripheral, or other electronic device with thought. ​
​It does so by using electrodes to detect electric signals in the brain which
are sent to a computer. ​
The computer then translates these electric signals into data which is used
to control a computer or a device linked to a computer.​
 How does Neuralink Work ?

Have you seen the Hollywood action flick The Matrix? Remember the
scene where Neo (played by Keanu Reaves) learns martial arts just by
loading a computer program into his brain?
Neuralink might not be able to teach you martial arts but it will be able to
send and receive electrical signals through your brain to control machines.
Right now, the company has said that you will be able to control basic
devices like your smartphone, computer and maybe even type using
thoughts.

In order to understand how Neuralink works you must understand that your
brain sends information to different parts of your body using neurons.
These neurons in your brain connect with each other to form a large
network and communicate using chemical signals called neurotransmitters.
This reaction generates an electric field and you can record these reactions
by placing electrodes nearby.

These electrodes can then understand the electrical signal in your brain
and translate them into an algorithm that a machine can read. This way
Neuralink will be able to read what you are thinking and find a way for you
to talk to machines without even opening your mouth. So no more calling
out “OK Google” or “Alexa”.

The goal of the N1 chip is to record and stimulate electrical spikes inside
your brain. You’ll also be able to learn different skills using a dedicated app.

At the moment it is not clear whether Bluetooth or some other form of

technology will be used to relay the data but it is certain that process is
going to be wireless.

How is Neuralink Installed ?

Since we’re talking about drilling a hole into your skull and inserting wires
into your brain there are a lot of reservations among people.

Musk has said that the procedure is complex and beyond the capabilities of
even skilled human hands.
Which is why Neuralink will be using its specially developed robots to carry
out the quick and precise insertion of the device into the cortex. The
company said it will work in accordance with the regulations by health
ministries while carrying out the operation to ensure it is safe.

The Nueralink robot will insert the module into your brain using a
microscope and needles the size of 24 microns (a micron is one-millionth of
a meter). These needles are so small that you can't easily spot them with
the naked eye.

This whole installation procedure could take about one hour, and require no
delay, so you could hypothetically get into surgery in the morning and be
out in your house by the afternoon. Also, general anaesthesia is not
needed, and if desired the device could be removed after installation with
no further complication.
The last thing to know, is that the device is charged wirelessly, and that it
would need to be charged every night, although it was not precisely
specified how.
As per the company, there could be 10,000 electrodes inserted into the
brain.

The robot has been designed to ensure that the device is inserted into the
brain without touching any veins or arteries. Each electrode will be inserted
specifically bypassing any kind of blood vessel.

The operation will require a 2mm incision which will be dilated up to 8mm.
After the procedure is complete the exposed part of the skull will be
covered with the chipset module.

The installation procedure could take up to two hours according to Musk

and the person could also be under partial anaesthesia during the process.

What can Neuralink Solve ?

The company said that the initial phase of the project will focus on helping
the healthcare industry. The machine will be able to help paraplegics with
simple tasks like operating a phone or interacting with a computer. It may
also be used to treat epilepsy.
Elon Musk said that the device will also be able to help regain someone’s
eyesight even if they have lost their optic nerve. He said that this
technology, in principle, will be able to fix anything wrong with the brain.
Musk added that Neuralink can also be used to restore memory, speech
and movement of a paralysed person.
Post a complete symbiosis of the tech and the human brain it will also be
able to help humans interact with each other without the need to actually
talk, Musk said. He didn’t specify if we would need to learn a specific
language for this but he said it will be possible.
Imagine, the ability to read someone’s mind!

The most recent revelation by the company is about how users will be able
to stream music directly into their brains. This will require a hardware call
link to be attached to the back of the ear which will directly communicate
with the Neuralink to stream music.

You’re entering the realms of AI, the possibilities are endless! Imagine, you
won’t need a physical communication device like a phone or a smartphone
to connect with people. The idea of telepathy is not farfetched with tech like
this.

The speed of communication will also increase by folds as we won’t be

wasting time typing sentences. Although, the process of capturing thought
and transcribing them into sentences will take time.

The company will explore more user cases when the technology is
deployed but initially, the focus will be to make sure the technology
interacts seamlessly with devices.

Future Scopes

It can be vaguely said that in near future we could relive people’s memories
from their DNA and go back in time of our ancestors .