Meta's bracelet is a simpler alternative to projects like Elon Musk's Neuralink, which involves implanting chips into the brains of people with severe paralysis. But Zuckerberg's team's device can be used immediately, without surgery.
Meta's bracelet is a simpler alternative to projects like Elon Musk's Neuralink, which involves implanting chips into the brains of people with severe paralysis. But Zuckerberg's team's device can be used immediately, without surgery.
Using the bracelet, you can move the cursor, open apps, and send messages. This requires a simple movement in the air, as if you were using a pencil, writes TechCrunch.
The Meta bracelet uses a technique called surface electromyography (sEMG), which detects electrical signals generated by muscle activity to interpret the user's movements. These signals can sense a person's intended actions before they take them.
The goal of this bracelet is to provide less invasive tools for interacting with computers for people with motor impairments.
The company is working with Carnegie Mellon to test the bracelet on people with spinal cord injuries, which would allow them to use computers even if they can't use their arms or hands fully. Douglas Weber, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Neuroscience, noted that even people with complete paralysis of their arms still show some muscle activity. As a result, the device is able to interpret their intended actions.
In addition to Neuralink, there are other non-invasive approaches that include headsets that use electroencephalogram (EEG) signals; however, these have limitations due to the weak signals they produce. Using sEMG signals means that it operates at a higher frequency than EEG.
