Partoftechnology’spromiseis thatit willenableustoexceed
ournaturalcapabilities.Oneoftheareaswherethatpromise
is mostapparentis brain-machineinterfaces(BMIs),devices,
implantedintoyourbrain,thatdetectanddecodeneural
signalstocontrolcomputersormachinerybythought.
PerhapsthebestexampleofBMIs’potentialcamein October
2019 whenThibault,a paralysedFrenchman,usedoneto
controlanexoskeletonthatenabledhimtowalk.What’s
currentlyholdingBMIsback,however,is thenumberof
electrodesthatcanbesafelyimplantedtodetectbrainactivity
andthat,beingmetal,theelectrodescandamagebraintissue
andwilleventuallycorrodeandstopworking.
ButlastJuly,techentrepreneurElonMuskannouncedhis
company,Neuralink,couldprovidea solution.Notonlydoesthe
NeuralinkBMIclaimtousemoreelectrodes,they’recarriedon
flexiblepolymer‘threads’thatarelesslikelytocausedamage
orcorrode.Butit’sdifficulttoknowforsurehowrealisticthese
claimsare,asthecompanyhasremainedtight-lippedaboutthe
technology.Furthermore,it’syettobetrialledin humans.
EvenwithoutBMIs,exoskeletonsarealreadybeingusedto
augmenthumancapabilities,particularlyforpeoplewhose
capabilitiesmightbelimitedasa resultofillnessorinjury.At
HobbsRehabilitationin Winchester,specialistphysiotherapist
LouisMartinelliusesanexoskeletonthatstrapsontoa
patient’s back, hips, legs and feet to help them stand and step.“Ifthepatienthashada reallyseverespinalcordinjury,thisis
theonlywaytogetthemupandsteppingsufficientlyacross
theroom,”hesays.“It’sbeenshowntobereallybeneficial,
particularlyforbloodpressuremanagement,reducingtherisk
ofvasculardiseases,andbladderandbowelfunction.”
Withtheexoskeleton,onlyonetotwophysiotherapistsare
neededtoassistthepatientratherthana teamoffourormore.
Butit alsoallowsthepatienttoachievea lotmore– taking
severalhundredstepsduringa sessioninsteadofthe10-20
withconventionaltherapy.Therearepotentialapplications
elsewhere– upperbodyexoskeletonsarebeingtrialledin a US
Fordmanufacturingplanttohelppeoplecarryheavycarparts.
Butasusefulaslower-bodyexoskeletonsare,they’re
unlikelytoreplacewheelchairsanytimesoon.That’spartly
becausetheystrugglewithunevensurfacesandcan’tmatch
walkingspeed,butalsobecausethey’resomuchmore
expensive.Wheelchairpricesstartin theregionof£150,
whereasanexoskeletoncansetyoubackanywherebetween
£90,000-£125,000.Thisis whyMartinelliwouldliketosee the
technologygeta littlesimplerin theyearstocome.
“WhatI’dliketoseeis theavailabilityofthesepiecesof
equipmentincreasebecausethey’reveryexpensive.For
individualstogetaccesstoanexoskeletonis reallydifficult,
maybea simplerversionthatwashalfthepricewould allow
more centres or more places to have them.”BRAIN-MACHINEINTERFACESANDHUMANAUGMENTATION
Exoskeletons will help the paralysed walk again and keep factory workers safe12This
groundbreaking
mind-controlled
exoskeleton
enabledThibault
tomoveallfour
ofhisparalysed
limbs