According to the company, participants in its clinical trials are able to operate robotic arms using only their thoughts, expanding on earlier demonstrations where users controlled computers or smartphones.

A video shared on X shows Neuralink patient Rocky Stoutenburgh – paralysed since 2006 – directing a robotic arm with his mind, raising it towards his face and kissing it.

“Participants in our clinical trials have extended digital computer control to physical devices such as assistive robotic arms,” Neuralink said on X.

“Over time, we plan to expand the range of devices controllable via Neuralink.”

Neuralink’s implant connects the nervous system to a brain-computer interface (BCI) that interprets neural activity.

The company explains that its system places electrodes near neurons to detect action potentials, and that recording from many neurons makes it possible to decode the information those cells carry.

In movement-related areas of the brain, neurons encode intended movements, while others represent what we see, feel, touch or think.

“Our brain-computer interface is fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let you control a computer or mobile device anywhere you go.”

The device remains in clinical trials, focused on safety and early functionality in people with medical conditions that severely restrict mobility.

According to Neuralink, the current surgery takes a few hours, but the aim is to eventually make the procedure as quick as a LASIK-type intervention.

As of September, Neuralink had implanted the device in 12 people since January 2024. The first participant, paralysed after a spinal cord injury, used the implant to play video games and chess.

05.12.2025.