Elon Musk unveils clip of his first human patient implanted with Neuralink brain-chip using ‘telepathy’ to play chess on computer just by thinking
- Noland Arbaugh, 29, has become the first person to ever use Neuralink technology
- Breathtaking images show how the paralyzed man plays chess telepathically
Elon Musk has shared stunning footage of the first person to use the Neuralink brain chip to control a computer mouse and play video games just by thinking.
The groundbreaking patient, paralyzed man Noland Arbaugh, 29, was seen in a video shared with X using only his mind to play a game of chess.
‘Do you see that cursor on the screen? That’s all me… it’s all brainpower,” he said from his wheelchair. He said in the video that he had a “freak diving accident” eight years ago that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
His successful use of the technology marks a breathtaking development and reinforces experts’ belief that it could revolutionize care for the disabled.
Nolan Arbaugh, 29, has become the first person to ever use Neuralink technology
The disabled man, who says he suffered a freak diving accident eight years ago that left him in a wheelchair, successfully played chess online using only his mind
Elon Musk has hailed the technology as a breathtaking step forward
Musk announced a month ago that the first person had had the chip implanted, saying at the time that Arbaugh could “move a mouse across the screen just by thinking.”
“Progress is good and the patient appears to have made a full recovery, with neural effects that we are aware of,” Musk said in a Spaces event on X.
Neuralink’s technology uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface implant into a part of the brain that controls the intention to move.
The system consists of a computer chip attached to small flexible wires that are stitched into the brain by a ‘sewing machine-like’ robot.
Musk said the fitting procedure, which connects the wire-like electrodes to certain parts of the brain, takes just 30 minutes, does not require general anesthesia and allows patients to return home the same day.
Arbaugh suffered his debilitating injury while working at a children’s camp in Texas in 2016, and said he has “absolutely no feeling” below his shoulders.
He added that he “loved to play chess” before his injury, continuing, “This is one of the things that you all have enabled me to do… I haven’t really been able to do much in the last few years. .’
In a GoFundMe as of 11 months after his accident, Arbaugh was said to be struggling with his “lack of mobility.”
‘Noland is bound to a large electric wheelchair that he has to take everywhere. The wheelchair, coupled with his condition, makes traveling anywhere an ordeal,” the fundraiser said.
Noland Arbaugh was paralyzed from the shoulders down eight years ago, and a fundraiser at the time said he struggled with his ‘lack of mobility’