Vikash Gilja is an assistant professor at UCSD, where he researchers brain-machine interfaces. Dr. Gilja is an advisor to Paradromics. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, an M.Eng and B.S. in EECS from MIT, and a B.S. in brain and cognitive sciences from MIT.
Rob Edgington is the head of AI at Paradromics. He holds a Ph.D. in brain-machine interfaces from UCL, and an M.Phys in physics from the University of Oxford.
Konrad Kording is a full professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he works on data problems in neuroscience. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from ETH Zurich.
Top 3 Takeaways

* Basic neuroscience and neural engineering can and should co-evolve, much the same as physics and electrical engineering.
* More granular understandings from neuroscience help inform machine learning models applied in neurotechnology.
* Speech prostheses are a promising area for modern BMIs.

Show Notes

* [1:10] Rob’s introduction.
* [1:24] Konrad’s introduction.
* [1:35] Vikash’s introduction.
* [1:47] Avery’s introduction.
* [2:05] Neuroscience vs. neurotechnology.
* [2:55] Basic science and causality.
* [3:35] Definition of causality.
* [6:10] Closed-loops require causal models.
* [8:15] Visual system as closing the loop.
* [9:55] Electrical engineering is an analogy to neural engineering.
* [12:20] Modern BMI devices.
* [13:00] More data means more degrees of freedom.
* [15:15] Distributed recordings.
* [19:40] Data processing constraints in BMI.
* [20:00] Ontology refinement.
* [22:35] Timescale of tool development.
* [23:45] Future-proofing a BMI.
* [25:00] On-chip processing.
* [26:00] Evolution of BMIs.
* [27:15] Industry is good for integrating engineering constraints.
* [29:30] Estimating intended speech.
* [30:20] Neurotech for locked-in patients.
* [32:30] Visual communication.
* [34:00] ML vs. DL in neurotech.
* [37:00] Better models are inspired by basic science.
* [38:35] Hiring in neurotechnology.

Selected Links

* Paradromics
* The Neurotechnology Age – Matt Angle, CEO Paradromics

Related Podcasts

* 010 – Matt Angle
* 026 – Gordon Wilson
* 027 – Marc Ferro

Disclaimer