Russian scientists invent “brain neuro-implant” that allows the blind to recognize objects and read texts
Scientists at the Skolkovo Innovation Center have developed a “brain neuro-implant” that is implanted in the brain of a blind person to enable them to recognize objects and read texts.
The “ELVIS V” system, developed by specialists from the Sensor-Tech laboratory, consists of a camera that captures the surroundings, a wireless transmitter that sends stimulation commands to a chip implanted in the blind person’s head, and a small computer that processes the image from the camera using intelligent algorithms. The neuro-implant is implanted in the human brain to stimulate the visual cortex with weak electrical currents.
“The main advantage of this innovation is that the image is processed by artificial intelligence algorithms that divide the image captured by the camera into parts,” said Denis Kuleshov, general director of the Sensor-Tech laboratory at the Skolkovo Center. “The algorithms extract only the important information from the environment, which may include, for example, the outlines of objects and bodies, windows and entrances, doors, etc.”
These features only are sent in the form of electrical impulses to the visual cortex of the blind person’s brain. There is also another level of algorithms that informs the blind person in real time about the objects in front of them using computer vision, as electronic vision is not enough to read a book quietly. The second-level artificial intelligence algorithm recognizes letters and words.
