The Marseille startup Inclusive Brains has developed a brain-machine interface to help people who can no longer use their hands or speak. It made it possible to write a tweet purely by thought.
“This is the first tweet in history written and published solely by thought! Bravo to the creators of Prometheus, a technological revolution serving the common good and inclusion,” congratulated Emmanuel Macron this Friday, May 31 on X ( formerly Twitter).
A “French pride”, also rejoices the president. Because the tweet in question was published by a Marseille startup, Inclusive Brains, at the origin of this feat. Founded in 2022, it aims to help people who have lost the use of their limbs following an accident or due to a degenerative disease using artificial intelligence (AI) and brain-brain interfaces. computer. A bit like Elon Musk with Neuralink.
Control by thought, eyes or teeth
In its publication, Inclusive Brains welcomes a “world first in France”, with a photo showing a woman with a motor disability carrying the Olympic flame through the streets of Marseille earlier this month. This, thanks to an exoskeleton on the arm and Prometheus, the neurotechnology developed by the startup, which also made it possible to write this tweet purely by thought.
With this brain-computer interface, Inclusive Brains wants to “help people who can no longer use their hands or speak to use workstations, connected objects and navigate digital environments without needing to type on a keyboard , touch a screen or use voice commands,” the startup explained in a press release.
Thanks to AI, Prometheus allows these people to control an exoskeleton arm with their thoughts, by blinking their eyes or even clenching their teeth. To develop it, Inclusive Brains partnered with the credit insurance company Allianz Trade, which notably provided financial support. Together, they hope, ultimately, to “accelerate the development of AI-powered assistance solutions that give more autonomy to people with disabilities and facilitate their access to education and the world of work.”
