This strong impact reached its peak when Jian Lian Yun saw the monkey playing the game.
A cute-looking macaque, wearing a red hat, stared at the screen without blinking.
After the gophers emerged from their holes and were hit with sticks.
It will get a pine nut, stuff it into its mouth, chirp, and then look at the screen even more excitedly.
It can be seen that this simple game of exchanging a gopher for a pine nut makes the monkey deeply intoxicated and unable to extricate himself.
And after discovering that you only need to use your brain to get delicious pine nuts.
The monkey even gave up the joystick and directly chose stream-of-consciousness operation.
As for the free hands, they were used to eat pine nuts.
This multi-tasking method obviously satisfied both parties in the experiment.
Jian Jianyun observed carefully for a quarter of an hour before leaving the game room with a shocked look on his face.
"Wow, I have only seen papers and some news reports on this before. I never thought that when the brain-computer interface actually appeared in front of me, it would be so cool, just like a science fiction movie brought to reality. "
She was full of praise and said: "I am full of expectations for this project now. I don't know when I can see it applied to the human body, so that paralyzed patients can also achieve freedom of play."
"Haha, what we want to achieve is not just freedom of play." Chen Yiqing was very satisfied with her reaction and said with a smile.
Obviously, the wonderful performance of the stream of consciousness monkey left a deep impression on the boss lady.
If the boss lady knows, it means the boss knows.
This is undoubtedly a good thing for the project team.
"Okay, no matter what you do, I fully support it."
Jian Jianyun's expression was still unfinished, and he quickly urged: "Is there any use for me? I can't wait."
"There happens to be something that I need your help with."
"After more than a month of hard work, we made a simple semi-invasive microelectrode implant that needs to be placed in the blood vessels of the monkey's brain."
"Wow, that's great. This is definitely my favorite surgery." Jian Jianyun said excitedly, looking eager to try it.
"Then go to the conference room first and discuss the specific location of the blood vessels."
Chen Yiqing took Jian Lianyun to a conference room to meet with three other project team members.
At this point, the entire core team is here.
After some discussion, the five people determined the location of the implanted blood vessels and came up with a preliminary experimental plan.
The monkey in the laboratory had microelectrode arrays implanted in the cerebral cortex.
And they will implant this device in the large vein of the macaque's brain to obtain another type of brain electrical signal.
Since the neural electrical signals obtained by direct implantation into the cerebral cortex are different, it is necessary to compare the neural signals obtained by the two methods, then analyze them through algorithms, and then convert them into the same digital electrical signals.
In this way, the accuracy of the signal can be greatly improved.
In the later stage, the direct signal connection on the monkey's head will be disconnected, and only the blood vessel stent will be used to collect and transmit the signal.
If all goes well, the signals collected by both methods should achieve the same effect.
This animal experiment will be considered successful only when the monkey can control the steel arm and play games smoothly using only a blood vessel stent.
***
***
In the dedicated operating room of the Neuroscience Laboratory.
A cerebrovascular interventional surgery is underway nervously.
The four of them, Chen Yiqing, put on surgical clothes, stood next to the operating table, and watched intently.
Jian Jianyun stood in front of the operating table, skillfully opened a 2-mm incision in the monkey's neck, and slowly inserted a long microcatheter.
Soon, the microelectrode sensor coil the size of a silver needle was accurately implanted into the predetermined position through the jugular vein and cerebral veins, and was firmly fixed on the blood vessel wall.
Then, a very thin silk thread shuttled through the monkey's cerebral veins and reached the jugular vein.
The silk thread was connected to a microchip the size of a fingernail, wrapped in biological protein material, and implanted into the subcutaneous tissue of the monkey's neck, forming a small bulge.
"Sew, call it a day!"
Jian Jianyun put down the surgical instruments, breathed a sigh of relief, and felt a little tired.
The monkey's brain is far less complex than the human brain, but she had just completed her postpartum recovery, and the more than one hour of delicate brain surgery was very mentally and physically draining for her.
Fortunately, monkeys, as the primates closest to humans, have been thoroughly studied by humans.
Dissecting a monkey brain is a required course for every neurosurgeon.
So everything was not difficult for her, and she was even as smooth and smooth as killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.
"It would be great if human brain surgery could be that simple. It could be promoted quickly and the threshold wouldn't be too high."
Jian Jianyun couldn't help but think in her heart, but the next second, a burst of warm applause interrupted her thoughts.
She looked at the other people and her surgical team and smiled expectantly.
"Next, it depends on the monkey's performance. Maybe we will make history."
***
***
In the control room, there were several computers on one side of a huge experimental table, and a row of monitors on the other side.
Wen Renlong quickly shuttled between computers to test their status. He liked to operate multiple computers at the same time and enjoyed the feeling of numbers and letters flowing through his fingertips.
Zhang Li sat quietly on a chair, looking at the computer monitor intently, making final adjustments.
Wang Dali was walking in and out, checking the robotic arms, joysticks and other equipment to ensure that any problems could be solved as soon as possible.
Chen Yiqing stood up straight and looked at the monitors carefully, observing the body language of the monkeys on the screen.
These monitors are installed in the game room, and each one is connected to a different camera. They film the monkeys playing games from different angles and perfectly display them in front of everyone.
Jian Lian Yun and Chen Yiqing stood side by side, also observing the monkey's movements.
Behind the control room, there is another industrial robot arm, exactly like the one in the next room.
The robotic arm was motionless, the artificial elbow was slightly extended, and the two fingers were fully spread.
The whole shape is smooth and powerful, giving people a feeling of being ready to go.
Those bright joints and silent motors seem to be ready to start at any time and make some shocking movements to complete a meaningful thing.
Wang Dali walked into the control room again. This time, he did not leave quickly, but closed the door.
This seems to be a starting signal.
Chen Yiqing raised his head, looked at Wang Dali, and received a clear look.
Then, he made a starting gesture and said in a deep voice.
"Everyone, after more than two months of hard work, it's finally time to show off."
"We have collected many neural signals through the cerebrovascular stent, used different neural signal data of the same action, and ran multiple versions of the linear regression algorithm. Finally, we found the optimal regression coefficient and made accurate motion trajectory predictions. , and converted into digital electrical signals."
"Now, the macaque is in the playroom, playing games as usual."
“At the same time, its brain movement control signals will be transmitted to the computer through two different sets of microelectrode arrays, then converted into digital instructions, and then sent to two robotic arms in two rooms. "
"One of the sets is the cerebrovascular stent tested today. The nerve signals collected by it are wirelessly transmitted to the computer through the nerve chip in the neck."
"The other set is wired through a hat on the head."
"The two systems also use different computers."
"But no matter which computer is used, it needs to convert the monkey's neuronal activity into digital instructions within 200-300 milliseconds and send them to the robotic arm."
"300 milliseconds is the maximum time for movement signals to be transmitted from the cerebral cortex to the limbs and start to produce movement. If this time is exceeded, the movement of the robotic arm will not match the picture seen by the monkey, resulting in a slow-motion delay."
"We first need to detect the movement trajectory of the robotic arm, then compare it to see where there are gaps, and then make improvements."
"Okay, now it's time to witness the miracle."
"let's start!"
With an order, Wang Dali opened both brain-computer interfaces.
Everyone looked at the mechanical arm, and everyone's face looked extremely nervous.
The room was eerily quiet.
Nothing unexpected happened, but there was no movement either.
Chen Yiqing glanced at the monitor anxiously and saw that the monkey was still playing its game, throwing pine nuts into its mouth.
He looked at it for a few seconds and then shifted his gaze to the mechanical arm.
"Moved!"
Suddenly, someone screamed.
Without any warning, the metal joints and rubber tendons of the mechanical arm moved, and the two metal fingers firmly clamped a joystick.
The five people immediately looked at the computer's main screen and saw two bright lines drawn at the same time.
The red line tracks the movement of the monkey's own arm when it plays the game.
Green lines began to trace the movement of the robotic arm, as if it was trying to keep up with the movements of the monkey's arm.
In the first few seconds, there is a considerable distance between the two lines, indicating that the BCI's predictions are not very accurate.
But after a few minutes, they began to converge until the two lines coincided almost identically.
"Awesome!"
"It's done!"
“So cool!”
Five people burst out with shouts of surprise at the same time, and the room instantly became extremely noisy.
After a while, the lines become stable and hardly change anymore.
Chen Yiqing seemed to have discovered something, and said with a confused look on his face: "Huh? Why is there no line of the other arm?"
Everyone's attention instantly shifted to the robotic arm in another room.
Wang Dali dialed the phone and was quickly connected.
"Hey, is it moving?" Wang Dali asked, wondering why the other party didn't show any excitement at all.
"No, it's as if it's dead, motionless." This is the lab colleague standing over there.
"How could this happen? It was fine before, and we were moving very well here."
"That's really hell. My arm here doesn't move at all. I can't even hear the sound of the motor, and my fingers don't bend at all." The other person's voice was full of frustration.
"That's not possible. We have to move together so we can compare." Wang Dali became a little anxious.
Even though he tried to stay calm, he could still feel the tension in the room growing as he listened to the conversation.
His mind was spinning rapidly, trying to find the answer from past experiences: "It shouldn't be. Wasn't this arm your responsibility before? Is the indicator light flashing? Is it possible that some part is broken?"
The other party was very depressed: "I also asked an engineer from your equipment department to do it. I studied chemistry and taught myself some electrical knowledge. If some parts are broken, how do I know this?"
Wang Dali was speechless for a moment: "Are you sure every device has been checked? Have the transmission lines been checked?"
"Checked. I just checked all the equipment before you called. Now I've checked it again, but it still doesn't work. There may be something wrong. After the experiment is over, we need to check it carefully."
There was a rustling voice on the phone. The other party seemed to be checking something, talking to himself, and his voice became panicked.
"I've restarted the device and tried everything, but it still doesn't work."
"What should I do? What should I do?"
"Don't worry, think about each step slowly and see if you can remember anything."
Wang Dali tried his best to comfort the other party, racking his brains to think of every possibility.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and all his thoughts disappeared, leaving only one last thought.
Although he thought it was impossible, he was still ready to try.
"Well, if we can't find any fault, we usually check to see if the power switch is turned on."
As soon as he finished speaking, a scream came from the phone.
"Oh my god, I suddenly remembered, I forgot one thing, how could I not check this?"
"What? Did you forget something?" Wang Dali asked eagerly.
"Nah, I actually forgot to turn on the power switch of the robotic arm."
A scream came over: "It's moving, it's moving, it's finally moving!"
"It's moving, and it's moving here too."
At the same time, there were shouts from the room on this side.
Wang Dali immediately hung up the phone and looked at the computer screen.
The movement trajectory of the other robotic arm finally appeared.
This is a gray line. Like the green line, it also tracks the movement of the monkey at first and then continuously adjusts it.
The distance between the three lines quickly narrowed and came together. Slowly, they completely merged into a colorful line.
The lines are thick, the trajectory short, but it is a bold journey in the history of neuroscience.
At this momentous moment, everyone's thoughts came to a standstill.
The eyes that looked at this colored line instantly became extremely hot.
It was as if the dragon was looking at a rare treasure, with fire flowing in its eyes.
(End of chapter)
