Amazon Alexa can now be controlled by thought alone – thanks to this brain implant

Amazon designed Alexa with voice control in mind, but thanks to a recent innovation, people can also control it with their minds.

Synchron, the same company that recently worked to let a man control an Apple Vision Pro with his thoughts, has announced another innovation in accessibility. Using a brain implant, an ALS patient was able to control Amazon’s virtual assistant with his thoughts.

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In a video showing off the technology, the patient controls a cursor on a tablet and uses “Tap to Alexa” to turn off a desk lamp without using his hands or voice. The video goes on to explain how the patient can access the entire Amazon smart home ecosystem, including seeing Blink security cameras, making and answering video calls, and controlling a Fire TV entirely by guiding the cursor with his brain.

The patient testing the new application is able to speak and could have done the same things with his voice. But it’s not hard to see how life-changing this could be for someone who didn’t have the use of their voice or limbs.

The vast majority of smart home systems rely on voice or touch, but Synchron’s technology bypasses the need for those inputs and sends signals directly from the brain, opening up the technology to people who otherwise couldn’t use it and meeting a critical need for millions of people.

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Synchron’s brain-computer interface, or BCI, is currently in use in at least six patients around the US. It functions similarly to the one from Elon Musk’s Neuralink company but is less invasive to implant and doesn’t even need surgery, according to Synchron. Doctors insert Synchron’s implant in the jugular vein where it delivers signals to blood vessels on the brain’s surface.  

Speaking to Wired, Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley said his company was working on other features and discussing future integrations with other companies.