BCI stands for Brain Computer Interface, and a man with ALS in California demonstrated to the media who visited his home this month that he can send a request to Amazon Alexa just by thinking about it in his mind, which has been reported on TV and YouTube in the United States. He went a step further by being able to control not only the Amazon Echo, which provides voice-activated music and news, but also the entire smart home ecosystem offered by Amazon (lights, heating and cooling system thermostats, security cameras, appliances, doors, etc.) without using his hands or voice. Progress.
This BCI is a BCI by Synchrone (established in Melbourne, Australia in 2011. It is called Stentrode because the BCI is inserted into a blood vessel in the brain, so it does not require surgery and is like a stent. This is the same BCI that was recently in the news for its ability to operate the Apple Vision Pro using both eye and thought.
This is very encouraging news for people who have lost the use of their limbs or have difficulty speaking due to ALS or muscular dystrophy.
Reported by Nobuko Schlough @P-als on September 23, 2024
