One of the first successful experiments to have been done in this field of electronics involved six rats who were given the ability to control a robotic arm just by thinking about it.
Conducted by researchers at Duke University and MCP Hahnemann University, the first step in the experiment was to set up a button that when the rats stepped on it, it would bring a robotic arm with water to them. Then the rats were trained to use the button when they wanted water. Once the rats got the idea that to get water they needed to step on the button, the researchers implanted electrodes in their brains that mapped the activity in the brains of the rats and recorded the activity which occurred when the rats stepped on the lever. Finally, they put in a new electrode that searched the brain for the brain activity previously recorded, and when it occurred, the robotic arm would come over to bring the rats water.