Neuralink, a secretive company owned by Tesla's Elon Musk which is developing brain-machine interfaces, has revealed some of the technology that it has been developing to the public on Wednesday. The aim is to implant a device in paralysed humans to control phones or computers, The Verge reported.

The technology involves the use of 'threads' which are less likely to damage the brain as compared to other materials used in brain-machine interfaces, the report said, adding that these threads can also transfer a high volume of data, according to a white paper credited to Elon Musk and Neuralink.

The device may include about 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads, the abstract of the white paper reads, adding that the company is also building a machine that automatically embeds them.

On Tuesday, Musk made a presentation on Neuralink's research, the report said, adding that Max Hodak, president of Neuralink, admitted that originally, he was not sure the technology was a good idea, but that Musk convinced him it would be possible.

In an interview to The New York Times, the scientists from Neuralink also plan to pass a laser beam through the skull, rather than drilling holes. Early experiments will be done with neuroscientists at Stanford University, the report said. “We hope to have this in a human patient by the end of next year,” Musk said.

First Published:Jul 17, 2019 3:24 PM IST