Neuralink literally means neural connection company, which was founded in? 20 16? In the summer of 2008, it was founded by Tesla CEO elon musk, but the company was not known to the public until 2065438+March 2007. In the following time, Neuralink became more and more mysterious and almost disappeared from public view. Until 20 19, the company held a public press conference to show the latest progress of the company, and published a peer-reviewed paper in the preprint magazine bioRxiv, which attracted wide attention.
Neuralink believes that they can integrate the human brain with the computer system, and this integration through the use of brain-computer interface will help alleviate nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy, and one day make amputees recover their mobility, or help patients with physical disabilities recover their language ability, hearing and vision.
However, the ultimate goal of Neuralink is to create a "whole brain interface". Interface), so that almost all neurons in the brain can communicate smoothly with the outside world, let people "live with artificial intelligence", and even realize Musk's idea of digitizing and completely uploading it to the computer to realize "eternal life". (Instantly think of the plots of The Matrix and westworld)
Brain-computer interface technology is not new
This technology (brain-computer interface), which sounds like science fiction and only appears in movies, was actually discovered by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as early as 1977. The earliest researchers devoted themselves to exploring the relationship between the motor cortex of animals (mainly macaques) and limb movements. Soon after, they found that macaques can learn to control the firing frequency of individual neurons in the initial motor cortex. Subsequently, scientists from Johns Hopkins University also found the relationship between the movement direction of upper limbs and the discharge pattern of motor cortex in rhesus monkeys.
In 1990s, brain-computer interface technology developed rapidly. In 2008, Andrew Schwarz (Andrew? Schwartz) claims that the brain-computer interface they created can be used by monkeys to manipulate robotic arms to feed themselves. This also indicates that the development of brain-computer interface has enabled people to directly connect the animal's brain with external devices, so that the external devices can perform specific functions. But there is a certain gap between this and the man-machine integration that Neuralink wants to achieve.
Neuralink's plan is to implant electrodes directly into the brain and establish micro-level electrode interfaces with brain neurons. However, at present, all non-invasive techniques for recording brain activity can not realize real-time recording, and traumatic craniotomy can only be used for critically ill patients. This also means that in order to realize the integration of man and machine, healthy people will have craniotomy, so the safety problem will become a big obstacle. In addition, intracranial implantation is expensive and can only be done by highly skilled neurosurgeons. It is not easy to popularize. However, according to Musk's vision, this technology should be as convenient as laser correction of myopia.
What achievements have been made?
To this end, Neuralink developed a machine called sewing? Machine) neurosurgery robot. The robot has automatic implantation mode, and it can implant up to 6 wires per minute (192 electrodes). Each filament can be implanted into the brain with micron-scale accuracy, and can avoid superficial blood vessels and target specific brain areas, while reducing the risk of inflammatory reactions in the brain. Although the whole implantation process can be carried out automatically, the surgeon still maintains complete control, and if necessary, he can manually fine-tune the position of the electrode wire before each implantation of cortex.
At last year's press conference, Neuralink? It shows the medical surgical equipment (sewing machine) that has been tested on mice. What can this equipment hold? 1500 electronic probes are sent to the brain of mice, which is 15 times faster than the current system implanted in human body. Before the press conference, Neuralink? At least on animals. 19? The success rate of implantation was 87.65438 0.65438 0.02.6% (average standard deviation).
In addition, another achievement of Neuralink is the development of a chip that can be implanted into the brain-computer interface. The chip can amplify and digitize the signals recorded by 3072 electrodes. After packaging, the entire 3072 channel only occupies less than (23× 18.5×2)mm3, and a USB-C line can transmit the data recorded by all channels at the same time. The Neuralink team has installed this system in the brain of mice and read the information of 3072 electrodes, which is at least one order of magnitude higher than the brain-computer interface currently embedded in the human brain. Later, they applied a similar system to monkeys and realized the monkey brain control computer.
At present, the prototype that has been successfully developed can only use the USB interface placed on the animal head when transmitting brain signals, which is quite inconvenient. So Neuralink hopes to realize wireless transmission. They called the proposed wireless sensor "N 1 sensor". We plan to implant four N 1 sensors, three of which are in the motor area and 1 in the somatosensory area, so that we can not only control external devices with brain signals, but also receive sensory feedback to realize two-way communication between the brain and external devices. The sensor will be wirelessly connected to an external device installed behind the ear and can be controlled by a mobile phone application.
But Chad Bowden, director of the Bioelectronic Medical Center of Feinstein Medical Research Institute in new york (Chad? Bouton) said, "Although the Neuralink team is studying wireless solutions and has made some progress, it is still a big challenge to ensure that it does not generate too much heat while supplying power to devices implanted in the brain. 」
Neuralink obviously inherited Musk's radical style. They said that it will be tested on five paralyzed patients by the end of 2020 at the earliest to see if this technology can help patients move the mouse cursor and type with their brains. At present, the COVID-19 outbreak, the company to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the United States? Food? And then what? Drugs? It is not known whether the permission applied by the administrative department can be approved.
Ashton tubercle
The company founded by Musk seems to have been accompanied by controversy. As for what purpose he founded Neuralink, only he knows best. However, the technology of brain-computer interface does have great market prospects, and future application scenarios will definitely appear in cars. Statista data shows that the global brain-computer interface scale was about 65.438+0.25 billion dollars in 2065.438+08, and it is expected to increase to 283 million dollars in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 654.38+0.2% from 2065.438+08 to 2025.
Not long ago, Elon Musk (Elon? Musk) announced on social media that its brain-computer interface company? Neural link? Will it be Pacific (summer) time? 8? Month? 28? 3 pm (Beijing time? 8? Month? 29? Sunday morning? 6? Hold a press conference to show the latest technological progress of the company to the public. According to the previously disclosed information, the focus of this conference is the real-time neuron activity demonstration, and the announcement of invasive brain-computer interface or entering the human trial stage, and it is possible to release brain-computer (BCI) related products. If you are interested in this, you can pay attention to its latest progress.
Figure? |? From the network
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.