China Ahead of Elon Musk's Dream: Paralyzed Man Controls Robot with Brain Chip

The patient can also control smart wheelchairs and digital devices.

China Ahead of Elon Musk's Dream: Paralyzed Man Controls Robot with Brain Chip

Chinese scientists claim that a completely paralyzed person can now interact with the world again using only brain signals, a significant step forward in brain-computer interface research.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed on December 17 that a man with a severe spinal cord injury can control smart wheelchairs, robot dogs, and digital devices through a fully implanted wireless brain-computer interface. 

This achievement marks the first time that brain-computer interface technology has provided stable, real-world control across multiple robotic systems, according to a report by Interesting Engineering, a website specializing in technology and engineering news.

The work, announced by the Center of Excellence in Brain Science and Artificial Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), represents a significant leap beyond laboratory testing. The patient is not only able to move but also to work, performing remotely controlled tasks without moving his body below the neck.

The patient, known as Zhang, suffered a severe spinal cord injury in 2022 after a fall, resulting in profound paraplegia that limited his voluntary movement to his head and neck. After more than a year of conventional rehabilitation that yielded little progress, he joined a clinical trial for a brain-computer interface.

On June 20, surgeons implanted a wireless brain-computer interface, known as WRS01, at Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai. The system includes tiny sensors implanted in the brain via flexible electrodes, as well as a processing chip embedded in a small cavity in the skull.

Following the procedure, Zhang wore a specially designed cap to wirelessly power the system and receive neural signals. After two to three weeks of training, he was able to control a computer cursor and other digital devices using only his thoughts.

 Zhang's ability to work remotely represents a landmark achievement. Using a brain-controlled pointer, it verifies the dispensing of products from remote vending machines. This makes it the first known participant in paid brain-computer interface trials.

This achievement mirrors the vision behind the "telepathy" concept pursued by billionaire Elon Musk with his company Neuralink, but with a crucial difference. While Neuralink's experiments still focus on basic interactions like games and simple tasks, the Chinese system has already reached the stage of everyday use. 

Turning thoughts into actions requires more than just electrodes in the brain. It needs a fast wireless connection, intelligent and reliable decoding using artificial intelligence, and advanced robots.

Speed ​​is a key technological development; the transmission of natural neural signals in the human body takes about 200 milliseconds. By customizing the communication protocol, the team was able to reduce the overall latency from the brain signal to the robot's response to less than 100 milliseconds, enabling smoother and more natural control.