At Insta360, we've always believed that technology should be for the good of mankind. For us, that comes in the form of helping people capture important moments, but in the case of Brad Smith, it goes even further.
Brad's Story
Brad has ALS, a fatal degenerative condition that causes a person's muscles to atrophy. Those with ALS lose the ability to move and, as time passes, they can become unable to eat or breathe.
For the past seven years, Brad has been confined to a motorized wheelchair and has to use a ventilator. The only way he could communicate was with Eyegaze. This system uses an infrared camera placed above a computer screen to track a person's eyeline and treat where they are looking as if it were a mouse cursor.
While this gave him a certain amount of freedom, even the simplest of actions was incredibly arduous, and due to the strict lighting required for Eyegaze's infrared mechanism to work, Brad couldn't go outside during the day nor have bright lights on in his home. But still he persisted; every day, he remained a dutiful father, loving husband, and determined to keep living a full life.
There is no known cause for ALS, and currently there is no cure either—but doctors and scientists all across the globe are working hard to find ways to stop and ultimately reverse the symptoms.
At the forefront is Neuralink, an AI start-up launched in 2016 by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, which develops brain-computer interfaces, a coin-sized technology that is inserted directly into the brain stem to counteract neurological issues.
Why Link 2
On November 8, 2024, Brad became the third person—and the first with ALS—to receive a Neuralink implant. After a period of intense cognitive training, he can now control a MacBook in a way not too dissimilar from using a mouse. This technology also frees him from staring at a screen to communicate, allowing him to use his eyes for what they were designed to do: see the world around him
To do this, Brad uses Insta360 Link 2. With its 1/2" sensor, it's able to capture lifelike 4K and, perhaps more importantly, the PTZ movements of the 2-axis gimbal allow him to smoothly change the angle, totally opening up his field of view.
He can now follow conversations around a room as if turning his head, zoom in to see his children's faces clearly, tilt the camera to get a clearer perspective—go outside during the day—simple things we all take for granted that were taken away by ALS. He can even record videos of his family to play back whenever he wants. Rather than being used for streaming, the camera functions as Brad's way to connect with the world.
Customizing Link 2
In May this year, Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, a major tech account on X that covers and promotes Elon Musk's companies, tagged both Musk's Neuralink and Insta360 in a tweet showing how Brad has been using Link 2. This brought Brad's story to our attention and, seeing how he's been able to use one of our cameras to regain control of a part of his life, we were touched and inspired in equal measure.
But Link 2 was developed as a video conferencing tool first and foremost, so it wasn't optimized for his experience. We quickly reached out to Brad and his family to find out how we could tailor it to his needs.
As the webcam is replicating his eye movements, he needed it to be faster and more sensitive, specifically in regards to the gimbal. The standard Link 2 model rotates at a speed of 5° per second—which is fine for everyday scenarios, but puts a hard limit on his reaction time—and lacks the finesse necessary to truly match the human eye, even when controlled by Neuralink.
Our engineers worked flat out to modify Link 2 and found that it wasn't possible to make the gimbal move fast enough without making the camera drastically larger and heavier, thus making it too cumbersome for Brad to use.
Instead, they tweaked the logic being used by the Neuralink system to make every signal more efficient, essentially letting him move the camera further with the same amount of commands.
This may sound like a relatively small change, but it made a big difference to Brad. It makes Link 2 easier and more natural for him to use, and he's very happy with the results.
Think Bold: Building a Better Future
When developing tech, the focus is so often on the macro—the intended user base, the broader industry trends—that sometimes the micro gets lost. Brad's story is a deeply personal one, and seeing him using one of our cameras with Neuralink was greatly inspiring.
"When we designed Link 2, it was intended for professionals in meetings and classrooms," said Max Richter, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing at Insta360. "But seeing it used as a tool that helps someone rediscover connection, that reminds us why we build technology in the first place. It's about empowering people to experience life in full."
It's this powerful feeling that prompted our engineering team into action. This has been a particularly busy summer for them, packed with tight deadlines on new product launches, feature tests, and next-gen developments, yet they still took the time to commit to this project because of how much they believed in Brad. If he didn't give up, how could they?
Click here to find out more about Brad's story in this short documentary, presented by Insta360.
Brad's journey is one of the many that have inspired us at Insta360; from Sam Bencheghib striving to keep Bali's rivers free of pollution to rally driver Lance Fenderson overcoming paralysis to race again, we will continue to champion bold individuals and use our tech to bring their missions to life.
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