DARPA becomes acclaimed in the BMI market

Wearable brainwave-sensing devices have been exploding in the past several years, as consumers clamor for a new metric to assess (and improve) their cognitive health. Many distinguished tech giants have swooped in to take advantage of this boon (e.g. Facebook-funded CTRL labs and Musk’s emerging Neuralink), and government-backed Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, is no different.

Neurolife, a Battelle project for DARPA, has been highlighted due to a recent innovation in non-surgical neurotechnology. Battelle has been contracted for $20 million and has produced an AI-powered method for paralytics to regain fine motor control up to their wrists with a bidirectional interface called Brain System to Transmit Or Receive Magnetoelectric Signals (BrainSTORMS). The helmet apparatus allows nanoparticles to transduce electric signals to magnetic ones. DARPA has also endeavored on a second $2 million “AI Next” program, which aims to optimize brain activity-action translation.