--- title: "Neuralink Testing Robot Arm Controlled by Brain Chip" description: "Elon Musk's brain chip company is entering its next phase of experiments: seeing if patients can move a robotic arm using their minds. " date: "2024-11-26" modified: "2024-11-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/neuralink-testing-robot-arm" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "BCI" - "brain computer interface" - "elon musk" - "neuralink" --- # Neuralink Testing Robot Arm Controlled by Brain Chip ![Elon Musk's brain chip company is entering its next phase of experiments: seeing if patients can move a robotic arm using their minds. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Elon Musk's brain-computer interface (BCI) company is entering its next phase of experiments: seeing if patients can move a robotic arm using their minds. In a [statement]() posted on X-formerly Twitter — also owned by Musk — the company announced that its new "feasibility trial" will investigate whether people can use its coin-sized brain chips to control a robot with their minds. "This is an important first step," the Neuralink post reads, "towards restoring not only digital freedom, but also physical freedom." Along with the teaser about the new capabilities, the company posted a link to its [trial patient registry](), suggesting that Neuralink is still looking for its ideal candidate. Beyond the news that Neuralink would begin testing what Musk has in the past referred to as the "[Luke Skywalker solution]()," a lot remains unclear about the trial. It does appear, per the fine print on its [patient registry page](), that [Canadians will be able to apply]() alongside their American counterparts to get a chip implanted into their brains and test out mind control on a robotic arm. While this is an unprecedented step for Musk's company, it's not the first time such an endeavor has been undertaken. Way back in 2015, Caltech researchers implanted what they called a "[neural prosthetic device]()" into the brain of a paraplegic man named Erik Sorto that allowed him to control a robotic arm using his thoughts. In doing so, the man was able to give a handshake, play "rock, paper, scissors," and [even sip a beer](). Much like Neuralink's first patient, [Noland Arbaugh](), Sorto described the sense of elation he felt when he was able to use the robotic arms to move after becoming paralyzed [during a gang shootout]() when he was just 21. "I wanted to drink my beer by myself and not asking anyone for help or anything like that," the [published author]() said [during a local newspaper interview in 2017](). "It was an out-of-body experience. I wanted to jump out of my chair, hug everyone, carry them around if I could carry them around and high five everybody." "It was so much joy," Sorto continued. "My body was full of joy." Though Musk often attracts attention for his [cringeworthy antics]() and [increasingly dangerous politicking](), Neuralink is one silver lining among his portfolio — as long as you don't think too hard about [all those monkeys]() from the company's early experiments, that is. **More on Neuralink:** [*First Neuralink Patient Using It to Learn New Languages*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()