Photo: Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images
ALS patient Brad Smith can now control the Insta360 Link 2 periscope webcam using his mind after receiving an implant of Elon Musk's Neuralink brain-computer interface earlier this year.
"The setup allows me to look around, take photos and videos, and engage with my family in ways I couldn't before, restoring a sense of mobility in my gaze," Smith said in a video.
The motorized webcam enables Smith, who cannot move anything but his eyes, to pan to watch what is happening around him in real time.
Before the implant, Smith used an eye gaze control computer for communication, but Neuralink's implant has allowed him to communicate more fluidly and now scan the room.
"I want the world to see ALS not merely as a tragic endpoint, but as an opportunity for profound growth and innovation that highlights human resilience and reveals purpose," Smith said.
THE LARGER TREND
Neuralink's brain-computer interface uses a small, virtually invisible implant placed in the region of the brain responsible for planning movements. The N1 implant is engineered to decode neural activity, allowing users to control a computer or smartphone simply by intending to move.
In April, Smith released a video on X about his experience with Neuralink and how the BCI works.
The video is narrated using an AI-generated replica of Smith's voice cloned from past recordings, and Smith uses the BCI to control the mouse on his MacBook Pro to perform the narration.
"I have spent the last few years with ideas and thoughts that I cannot share because it takes too much time to type it out," Smith said in the video. "I can already communicate faster and in more ways than I could before, and we are still working on ways to get even faster."
In September, Neuralink confirmed on X that 12 people worldwide have received its brain implant.
"Collectively, they've had their devices for 2,000 days and accumulated over 15,000 hours of use," the company wrote.
