The second patient of Neuralink's new brain-computer interface (BCI) chip otherwise known as a "Link" has been playing Counter-Strike 2 on his laptop using just his thoughts.
Elon Musk's exciting startup had his Neuralink implant (Link) installed last month, with the surgery taking place at the Barrow Neurological Institute, with Alex discharged the following day, and Neuralink saying "his recovery has been smooth".
With the Link installed, Alex has been improving his ability to play video games, and has started learning how to use computer-aided design (CAD) software to design 3D objects using his thoughts. Neuralink says that this "marks another significant step" towards providing a high-performance interface that will enhance the control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia to help restore their autonomy.
Neuralink explains the entire thing on their website if you want to give it a deeper read, but from the moment Alex connected his link to his computer, it took him under 5 minutes to start controlling the cursor with his mind. A few hours later, he was able to surpass the maximum speed and accuracy he'd achieved with any other assistive technology on Neuralink's Webgrid task.
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Alex mastered his Link interface, breaking the previous record from the first BCI patient, with Alex continuing to keep testing his limits of the Link independently, where he used it to play Valve's first-person shooter Counter-Strike 2, through his laptop... and once again to be clear, using just his thoughts. There's no hands on the keyboard and mouse here, Alex has a BCI "Link" installed into his brain, and is playing CS2 with his thoughts.
Before his spinal cord injury, Alex worked as an automotive technician, constantly fixing and working with various types of vehicles and large machinery. Since then, he's wanted to learn how to design 3D objects using CAD software, so that he could work on projects without needing to rely extensively on his support system.
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On his second day of having the Link installed, Alex used CAD software Fusion 360 for the first time, designing a custom mount for his Neuralink charger, which was then 3D printed and integrated into his BCI rig.
Neuralink is now working with Alex to increase his productivity further with the Link by mapping intended movements to different types of mouse clicks (left, right, middle) which will expand the number of controls he has, enabling him to quickly switch between various modes in CAD software (zoom, scroll, pan, click-and-drag).
Now... onto Counter-Strike 2. Alex loves playing first-person shooters, but you require multiple physical inputs for that (a mouse and a keyboard). But, as a quadreplegic, you need to use multiple forms of input, including two separate joysticks (one for aiming, one for moving) and a bunch of different buttons.
Alex had been playing games using an assistive device called the Quadstick, which is a mouth-operated joystick with sip-and-puff pressure sensors, and a lip position sensor for clicking. The controller only has one joystick, which completely restricts your movement and aiming. You need to switch from moving to aiming by letting go of the joystick, sipping or puffing in combination with his Quadstick to move and aim at the same time.
However, with his Link installed, Alex can use his BCI implant as well as his Quadstick to move and aim simultaneously, making for a far, far better gaming experience. Alex explained: "Just running around is so enjoyable because I can look side to side, and not need to move Quadstick left and right... I can [think about where to] look and it goes where I want it to. It's insane"
Neuralink also explained: "With our first participant, Noland, we observed a degree of thread retraction that temporarily reduced his BCI performance. The threads have stabilized, and the performance of Noland's Link has since recovered - more than doubling the prior world record for BCI cursor control".
"To reduce the probability of thread retraction in our second participant, we implemented a number of mitigations, including reducing brain motion during the surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain. We discussed these measures in greater detail in our live update prior to our second participant's surgery. Promisingly, we have observed no thread retraction in our second participant".