Neuralink Plans to Mass-Produce Its Brain Implants and Automate Surgery by 2026
Elon Musk, through his social network X, announced an ambitious goal for his company Neuralink: to begin mass-producing its brain-machine interface devices and fully automate the surgery to implant them starting in 2026. This announcement marks a milestone in the company's timeline to scale its technology. 🧠
Automating the Surgical Process is Key
The vision goes beyond producing the implants. Neuralink seeks to revolutionize how they are placed. To achieve this, they are developing a specialized surgical robot designed to precisely insert the thin electrodes of the N1 implant into the brain's motor cortex. Automating this complex process is essential to make the procedure safer, faster, and more accessible, reducing the risk of human error and operation time.
The Pillars of Automation:- A surgical robot that performs electrode insertion with high precision.
- A system that seeks to drastically reduce the total brain surgery time.
- Greater accessibility by standardizing and optimizing a procedure that is currently very complex.
The idea of a robot operating brains on an industrial scale sounds like science fiction, but Neuralink insists it will be a reality soon.
Human Trials Are Already Underway
This ambitious plan is built on real tests. Neuralink began clinical trials in humans with quadriplegics last year, after receiving the necessary regulatory approval. The implant, approximately the size of a coin, is designed to record and decode neural activity.
Demonstrated Functionalities in Patients:- Allow users to control a cursor on a computer screen just by thinking.
- Operate a virtual keyboard through decoded brain signals.
- Play simple video games using mental control of the cursor.
The Path to 2026
The goal of mass production and automating surgery by 2026 represents a quantum leap. Currently, the technology is being tested in a very limited number of patients. Scaling it will require not only perfecting the robot and the implant but also overcoming significant regulatory and manufacturing challenges. The future that Neuralink envisions brings human-machine symbiosis ever closer. 🤖