Chinese scientists claim to have created a brain-computer interface that allows a monkey to control a robotic arm using its mind. The research, which is still under peer review, was announced in an announcement on May 5 by Nankai University in Tianjin. The researchers argue that, like other examples of such technologies, this technology could one day help people who cannot use their limbs.
The technology converts electroencephalogram (EEG) signals into control instructions for the robotic arm that the monkey can use to bring food to its mouth. The technology works using a special receptor inserted into a small opening in the carotid artery that goes directly to the motor cortex of the brain via the sagittal sinus in the skull.
Other companies have recently been working on brain-computer interfaces similar to this research. One of the most famous, if not technically impressive, ventures came from Elon Musk’s Neuralink and showed how to play Pong with the mind of a monkey.
World first! #China completed the interventional brain-computer interface non-human primate experiment in #Beijing. pic.twitter.com/Nwmqd7V2tW
— Beijing Daily (@DailyBeijing) May 5, 2023