The implant would be small — no larger than one cubic centimeter, or roughly the size of two stacked nickels — according to DARPA.

The implantable device aims to convert neurons in the brain into electronic signals and provide unprecedented “data-transfer bandwidth between the human brain and the digital world,” according to a DARPA statement announcing the new project.

DARPA sees the implant as providing a foundation for new therapies that could help people with deficits in sight or hearing by “feeding digital auditory or visual information into the brain.”

A spokesman for DARPA told CNN that the program is not intended for military applications.