Brad Smith said his decision to connect a webcam to a computer he controls with his brain made no sense to the people at Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company.
“Neuralink was really intrigued by the idea,” Smith said. The Verge,
The decision comes just six months after Smith had a BCI implanted in his brain in November 2024, making him the third person to receive a Neuralink device. Smith was the first Neuralink patient suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which has weakened his muscles for the past seven years. While the BCI successfully replaced his eye-tracking software as the primary way to control the cursor on his laptop, it quickly became clear that the tool’s usefulness to Smith would be limited. Using your brain to control the cursor was great for communicating more quickly and surfing the Web, he said. But it would be even better if he could use it to track his son running across the football field.
Neuralink may not have understood why Smith wanted a periscope, but they went ahead and researched the idea themselves. He landed on the simple Insta360 Link 2 webcam – billed as a conference camera, not a medical device. “They didn’t know why I wanted this, because they didn’t know what I experienced, but that’s why I’m here,” Smith said. The Verge(Neuralink did not respond to requests for comment,)
Nathan Copeland, another BCI user, said it’s an amazing hack – and an unexpected move. Copeland pointed out that the BCI is “just a tool”. The VergeHe has had a BCI from BlackRock Neurotech for over a decade, Additionally, Copeland has used a robotic arm to punch former President Barack Obama and shake the hand of ABC correspondent Will Reeve, But his daily life is still a “mixture” of software and technology, like Smith, Copeland talks out loud to his Google Home throughout the day to dim the lights or turn on the TV, He uses a custom-made controller with large buttons and a joystick, in addition to switches controlled by air currents, to play video games, (He has suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him with partial control of his shoulders, biceps and wrists,)
,Some guy I met on a forum built a device for me using arcade stick parts and taking apart an actual Xbox controller and soldering wires and stuff to it,, Copeland said. ,[The BCI] gives people a little more agency [who] The normal means of doing things can’t be used, but to keep up with the world you still have to find software and hardware, things you can use with it.
BCIs like Smith’s Neuralink work by recording interactions between brain neurons. Neurons release ions to convey information to each other; This can be measured as a change in voltage across nearby implanted electrodes in the brain tissue. As soon as Smith thinks about moving his hand, neurons “talk”, and tiny blips of electrical signals are transmitted from electrodes in his brain to a laptop screen projected in front of his face. He thinks and his cursor moves.
The BCI replaced Smith’s eye-tracking software, called Eyegaze, which used an infrared camera mounted above a computer screen to translate the lines of his eyes into computer cursor movements. It’s a tedious technique, and it doesn’t work in sunlight, which means it’s strictly for indoor use. It took Smith a few days to master his new thought-controlled cursor. Smith compared it to moving a computer mouse and forgetting that you are moving your hand and arm at all.
Using a cursor controlled by his mind, Smith showed The Verge How his vision setup works. Once the webcam is plugged into his laptop, he can click buttons on the webcam’s interface to move around and zoom in and out. He shared the webcam output on a video call by zooming in on a photo taken of him and Tiffany on their wedding day.
After Smith researched the best webcam for his BCI setup, Neuralink purchased it and figured out how to attach it to his wheelchair and computer, Smith said. “They were very helpful with ways to test different setups for future users. Neuralink is trying to make the system easier for people to use and they love Periscope.”
It doesn’t happen every day that a camera comes into view. For example, this happens when children are playing around him. Or, when a guest joins the family for dinner, Smith likes to watch the facial expressions from his chair near the dining room table. Whenever he leaves home, there is a camera attached to his wheelchair.
As Smith answers the questions, I watch him type his answers on the text-to-speech app Proloquo4Text, letter by letter and sometimes with whole words predicted by the software.
It took him one minute and 17 seconds to answer a question about his most typical use: “I think I use it to talk to people in person or on the phone.” He said he also uses it to browse the web.
His cursor began to move rapidly around his screen; It appeared irritable at times. Tiffany said that “her brain keeps moving,” meaning so does her cursor. Smith demonstrated how he locks his hyperactive cursor to a designated “parking spot” in the lower-right corner of the screen.
In May, Smith joined Insta360, a company known for action cameras and rotating webcams like the Link 2. The company adjusted the Link 2 control panel to accommodate Smith’s desire to have the camera rotate rapidly and rotate forward with each click. The camera remained the same, but each click on the custom-made control panel rotated the camera three times faster, up to about 15 degrees per second. A second custom control panel gave Smith the ability to rotate the camera up to 0.5 degrees.
Before conference cameras, before BCIs, there was a bell and other everyday hacks to meet Smith’s increasingly limited mobility needs. Smith chose a $20 dog bell, which was placed at dog height next to the door, rather than the expensive nurse call button. As Smith’s voice became weak, he boosted it with the help of a microphone, giving him a Backstreet Boy feel. She used a runner’s phone holder armband to secure her phone right under her arm, just above her thigh so she could drag her fingers across the screen. Now, he programs frequently used phrases and favorite movie quotes into his text-to-speech software, allowing him to participate in the rapid conversations going on around him.
“Many common things are useful for people with disabilities,” Smith said. When asked if he considered himself an innovator, Smith demurred. “I just think about how to solve a problem,” he joked, “and Tiffany is cheap.”
Disability unleashes creativity, former BCI user Ian Burkhardt said in an interview The Verge“People with disabilities are forced to make adjustments and find solutions to get ahead in life,” Burkhardt said, He is paralyzed from the chest down due to a spinal cord injury in his neck following a driving accident in 2010,
Unlike Smith, who uses his Neuralink BCI at home, Burkhart experienced BCI technology within the confines of a research lab. From 2014 to 2021, Burkhart was part of a clinical research trial with BlackRock Neurotech, the longest-running BCI company, at The Ohio State University. He founded and led a BCI patient support and advocacy group called the BCI Pioneers Coalition.
he is also smith able Finding ways to improve his daily BCI experience is the most exciting part of Smith’s story for Burkhart. “I’m personally extremely excited to see that more and more people, in particular, are being able to use BCIs in their everyday world.”
The difference between webcams and Neuralink devices seems to Burkhardt to be another example of the rarity of “great solutions.” “Users are forced to connect things together that were not initially designed to work together but that can work for them,” he said. BCI users should collaborate with researchers earlier in the design process, Burkhart said.
Smith spoke widely about the benefits of BCI The VergeHe predicts a future “where BCIs will seamlessly blend with gadgets like smart home appliances or robotic arms”, His dream extends to controlling his wheelchair, which he uses throughout his time with his thoughts when not in bed,
“In the big picture, this is opening doors for all ALS patients to remain productive, social and hopeful,” Smith said. “It’s not just technology. It’s humanizing us again, giving agency back in a world where our bodies fail. I’m excited.”
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