Elon Musk’s Neuralink recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to trial Blindsight, its latest device designed to restore vision to the blind and those who have lost their vision. As per Musk’s brief explanation, the device will “enable those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see” again.
Musk explains that so long as the visual cortex in the brain is intact, Blindsight should theoretically allow individuals who have been blind since birth to see for the first time. That said, he also tells folks to manage their expectations of the device; the first version of it will output low resolution, similar to Atari graphics.
The Blindsight device from Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see.
Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time.
To set expectations correctly, the vision… https://t.co/MYLHNcPrw6 pic.twitter.com/RAenDpd3fx
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2024
However, as the development of the device progresses, he expects it to get better, eventually providing users with better-than-natural vision and, at some point, even allowing the individual to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths. Of course, he had to refer to the Star Trek: The Next Generation character, Geordi La Forge, when saying that.
Despite the controversy courted by Musk, Neuralink has shown promising results with its brain-computer interface. To date, the technology has enabled paralysed individuals who suffered spinal cord injury to play Counter-Strike, literally with the power of their mind.
(Source: Elon Musk via X)
