Neuralink has yet to achieve its primary goal of implanting a computing device into the brain of a human. And yet, in typical fashion for an Elon Musk venture, the company is already bounding ahead, aiming implants at other body parts.
During an event Wednesday night at the company’s Fremont, California, headquarters, Musk revealed work on two major products in addition to the brain-computer interface, which would need to be drilled into a person’s skull and would initially be used to treat traumatic brain injuries. Neuralink is also developing implants that can go into the spinal cord and potentially restore movement in someone suffering from paralysis, and an ocular implant meant to improve or restore human vision.
"As miraculous as that may sound, we are confident that it is possible to restore full-body functionality to someone who has a severed spinal cord,” Musk said at the event. Turning to Neuralink’s vision work, he said, "Even if they have never seen before, we are confident they could see.”