The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Elon Musk’s brain-chip company to conduct its first human tests.

The Neuralink implant firm hopes to restore people’s vision and mobility by connecting their brains to computers.

It states that it has no immediate intentions to begin recruiting people. Mr Musk’s prior plans to begin testing fell through.

The FDA stated that it was aware of Neuralink’s announcement.

An earlier FDA approval attempt by Neuralink was rejected on safety reasons, according to a March article by the Reuters news agency, which quoted many current and former workers.

What exactly is Neuralink?
Neuralink intends to use its microchips to heal illnesses including paralysis and blindness, as well as to assist certain impaired people in using computers and mobile technologies.

The chips, which have been tested on monkeys, are intended to decode brain signals and transfer information to gadgets through Bluetooth.

Experts have warned that if Neuralink’s brain implants are to become generally available, they will need considerable testing to overcome technical and ethical difficulties.

Mr Musk has previously stated that the proposed technology might help alleviate concerns about AI displacing people.

Neuralink announced the announcement on Twitter on Thursday, calling it a “important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people.”

According to the company, the approval was the “result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA.”

The company promised “soon” further details about intentions to sign up trial participants.

According to its website, “safety, accessibility, and reliability” are key priority during the engineering process.

Mr Musk co-founded the firm in 2016, and it has consistently misjudged its ability to fulfill its objectives.

Its initial goal was to begin implanting chips in human brains in 2020, in order to fulfill a vow made the previous year. It later stated that it would begin operations in 2022.

The company suffered another setback in December of last year, when it was apparently investigated for possible animal welfare infractions in its operations. It previously refuted similar charges.

Its FDA approval for human studies comes on the heels of a similar discovery employing brain implants by Swiss researchers.

A paralyzed Dutchman was able to walk simply by thinking about it, thanks to a set of implants that wirelessly transmitted his thoughts to his legs and feet.