According to Elon Musk (Neuralink's founder, also behind Tesla and SpaceX), the device's development is complete, and now the company is waiting for regulators to approve trials. Musk claims the implant could help even people who were born blind.
I looked into how it actually works. Here's the interesting part:
How it's supposed to work
Blindsight tries to bypass the eyes and the optic nerve entirely and "show the picture" directly to the brain. Here's how it's supposed to work, ideally and after trials:
1. A camera — probably external, like one mounted on glasses — captures the surrounding world.
2. A computer translates the image into a set of simple signals.
3. An implant in the brain sends these signals to the visual cortex — the part of the brain that normally receives information from the eyes.
4. The brain gradually learns to interpret these signals as visual images.
An analogy: the eyes are the camera, the optic nerve is the cable, and the visual cortex is the screen. If the camera or the cable is broken, the implant tries to plug the image straight into the "screen."
What this doesn't mean
The most important part, in case you got excited: this is not quite the same as restoring normal vision. In the early stages, we're likely talking about crude sensations — bright spots, contrasts, silhouettes, or motion, roughly like a very low resolution. A person won't necessarily be able to read, recognize faces, or see the world the way they used to right away.
What's not proven yet
The article talks about readiness for trials, not proven treatment. According to Neuralink's own statement, human trials still need regulatory approval. The claim that it could help people born blind is, for now, just the company's statement — one that still needs to be clinically verified.
So, in short: camera → computer → electrical impulses into the visual part of the brain. The brain isn't sent a ready-made photo — it's given a pattern of signals that it has to learn to interpret as vision.
Official description of Neuralink Blindsight · RB.RU article