{"id":6101,"date":"2023-04-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=6101"},"modified":"2023-03-31T04:37:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T04:37:31","slug":"weve-been-connecting-brains-to-computers-longer-than-youd-expect-these-3-companies-are-leading-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/weve-been-connecting-brains-to-computers-longer-than-youd-expect-these-3-companies-are-leading-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve been connecting brains to computers longer than you\u2019d expect. These 3 companies are leading the way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n Shutterstock<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\nSam John<\/a>, The University of Melbourne<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Since it was founded in 2016, Elon Musk\u2019s brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink has had its moments in biotech news. <\/p>\n\n

Whether it was the time Musk promised his \u201clink\u201d would let people communicate telepathically<\/a>, or when the whole company was under investigation for potentially violating<\/a> the Animal Welfare Act, the hype around Neuralink means it\u2019s often the first mental reference people have for BCI technology. <\/p>\n\n

But BCIs have been kicking around for much longer than you\u2019d expect. Musk\u2019s is just one in a growing list of companies dedicated to advancing this technology. Let\u2019s take a look back at some BCI milestones over the past decades, and forward to where they might lead us.<\/p>\n\n

An expanding sector<\/h2>\n\n

Brain-computer interfaces are devices that connect the brain with a computer to allow the user to complete some kind of action using their brain signals.<\/p>\n\n

Many high-profile companies entered the BCI field in the 2010s, backed by millions of dollars in investment. Founded in 2016, the American company Kernel<\/a> began by researching implantable devices, before switching to focus on non-invasive techniques that don\u2019t require surgery. <\/p>\n\n

Even Facebook gave BCIs a go, with an ambitious plan to create a headset that would let users type 100 words per minute. But it stopped this research<\/a> in 2021 to focus on other types of human-computer interfaces.<\/p>\n\n

First contact<\/h2>\n\n

Developed in the 1970s, the earliest BCIs were relatively straightforward, used<\/a> on cats and other animals to develop communication pathways. The first device implanted in a human was developed by Jonathan Wolpaw in 1991<\/a>, and allowed its user to control a cursor with their brain signals.<\/p>\n\n

Advances in machine learning through the years paved the way for more sophisticated BCIs. These could control complex devices, including robotic limbs, wheelchairs<\/a> and exoskeletons. We\u2019ve also seen devices get progressively smaller and easier to use thanks to wireless connectivity.<\/p>\n\n

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