Dr. Ramses Alcaide is the CEO and Founder of Neurable, a Loup Ventures portfolio company focused on non-invasive BCI. Ramses earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Washington in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Michigan.
Top 3 Takeaways.
- Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) allow for human intent to act as an new input to computers. With knowledge of intent, information is only given to a user when it is wanted and actions of a computer only happen when desired.
- Hardware for non-invasive BCI will continue to have better performance and decrease in physical size, improving BCI experiences in the future.
- Applying the technology to non-invasive BCI solutions is arguably harder than invasive solutions given challenges around processing noisy, limited signal, but the opportunity to impact live sooner is worth the challenge.
Show Notes.
- [1:08] Ramses shares his background and how he became interested in Neurotech.
- [2:46] Ramses talks about Neurable’s early prototype and where the product is today.
- [3:33] Neurable (and Loup Ventures) sees augmented and virtual reality as the next frontier for human interaction.
- [4:12] Ramses shares the long-term picture for Neurable and the importance for natural interfaces on tomorrow’s devices.
- [5:34] Human intent as an input.
- [6:10] Ramses walks through the differences he sees in input technologies for BCI.
- [7:50] How BCI hardware will change over the next few years.
- [8:53] The future of BCI in consumer hardware and where the next major growth opportunities are.
- [10:07] Pathway for hardware integration for current device manufacturers.
- [11:11] Invasive vs non-invasive BCI systems.
- [15:36] Data privacy and it’s relationship with BCI.
- [17:23] Ramses’ favorite book – Pattern Master by Octavia Butler.
Selected Links.
- Neurable Website
- Neurable X Siggraph Video
- A Game You Can Control With Your Mind – NY Times
- Pattern Master by Octavia Butler
Related Podcasts.
- Episode 001 – Dr. Michael Merzenich
- Episode 002 – Jeff Hawkins
- Episode 003 – Dr. Mikhail Lebedev
- Episode 004 – Gaurav Sharma
- Episode 005 – Ian Stevenson & Konrad Kording
- Episode 006 – Dr. Stephen Rainey
- Episode 007 – Chad Bouton
- Episode 008 – Ian Burkhart
Disclaimer: We actively write about the themes in which we invest: artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, and augmented reality. From time to time, we will write about companies that are in our portfolio. Content on this site including opinions on specific themes in technology, market estimates, and estimates and commentary regarding publicly traded or private companies is not intended for use in making investment decisions. We hold no obligation to update any of our projections. We express no warranties about any estimates or opinions we make.