1. Hook up said implant, convert analog impulse to digital 2. Chemically induce paralysis of the peripheral motor neurons (??) 3. Truly immersive VR experience where participant controls embodied avatar
As a disabled (legally blind) person myself, I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it felt like we (well, the disabled people in the fictional world) were being used as means to an end. On the other hand, one of my unanswered questions from the first book was what the rise of a VR like the OASIS would mean for people like us; I felt that the second book provided a satisfying answer (in the fictional world, if not in the real one).
To be clear, the sequel was panned, for good reasons IMO. I chose to read it before looking at the reviews. I don't recommend it, but this comment reminded me of it.
Wonder if you use your mind vs. a display, then are the visuals as good as real life. Or maybe you feed the image and your mind upscales it.
You need an incredibly high density of electrodes arranged around the spinal column. Then you need to construct in real time an image of the internal spinal column down to the level of fibre bundles, in real time. Then when you want to stimulate something you can apply the correct voltages to the huge numbers of electrodes and induce firing in the target neuron bundles.
Oh and you need to understand how neurons relay information - not actually a solved problem.
It's all possible. Just good luck getting this to work before the year 2100.
But in the back of my mind I have a plan involving flex pcbs...
https://www.roadtovr.com/neuralink-brain-interface-limb-trac...