Apple is reportedly developing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to let people use its devices without lifting a finger. As per the report, the Cupertino-based tech giant has partnered with Synchron, a medtech startup specialising in developing implantable BCIs, to create a new standard for this technology. The startup’s first device to follow this standard is reportedly in the early testing phase currently, however, there has been positive development so far. Notably, Elon Musk-owned Neuralink is also building implantable chips that would let people control computers and robotic limbs with just their intent.
Apple Is Working With Synchron to Develop BCIs for Its Devices
According to The Wall Street Journal, the iPhone maker has developed a new standard with Synchron that will allow the BCI to pair with Apple’s operating system, allowing users to control the ecosystem products directly using brain signals. Synchron’s first such device to support the new standard is called Stentrode.
The technology behind BCI is complex and includes multiple scientific and technological fields. But essentially, these are chipset-like devices with open electrodes. Now, our brain controls our movements and all physical actions. If you move your arm to pick up a pen, that command also comes from the brain. The brain sends this information as electrical activity via neurons.
A BCI chipset captures and interprets these brain signals, processes them, and translates them into commands that a computer or machine can understand. These are mainly directed at people with physical disabilities, but are also looked at as cognitive enhancements.
There are three types of BCIs — non-invasive ones that can be equipped in wearable headsets, partially invasive chips that are placed on the brain stem or surface, and invasive chips where electrodes are implanted directly in the brain. While Synchron’s device follows the partially invasive system, Musk’s Neuralink is an invasive system. The higher the invasiveness, the closer the proximity to the neurons, and the stronger the BCI connection.
As per the report, Stentrode was first developed in 2019, and so far, it has been tested on 10 volunteers. One of the volunteers and an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patient, Mark Jackson, reportedly was able to connect to the Apple Vision Pro and control it using brain signals.
The pairing was reportedly possible due to the Switch Control feature in Apple’s operating systems, which lets users switch control to a new input device, such as a joystick. However, the report claims that navigation using BCI is much slower than normal interaction via keyboard and mouse, or fingers. But Synchron could fix the snags, given it is early days for the startup.