- China sticks to it. Its last failed space launch crashed into the mountains and that sets a rather worrying precedent
- China has created a bridge-tunnel that breaks all records. This is how it once again proves to be the world’s leading power in infrastructure
Chinese scientists have developed in vitro a living brain that can be housed in the body of a robot to control it. The organ has been created in a laboratory using human stem cells and then implanted in the robot. Thanks to a neural chip, it can send electrical signals to the robotic body to move limbs and learn tasks.
A living brain that is implanted in robots
The project has been jointly devised by Tianjin University and the Southern University of Science and Technology, both in China. The brain is made up of living cells and sends electrical signals to a chip that integrates an open-source system called MetaBOC, through which it can move the robot’s limbs, but also avoid obstacles and grasp objects, according to the South China Morning Post.
In addition, researchers are using low-intensity ultrasound to successfully enhance brain development, which also in the future opens the door for such ultrasounds to be transferred to medicine to cure brain damage that is currently beyond remedy.
The goal of the research is to integrate human brain cells into artificial bodies. It sounds like science fiction, since in many movies we have seen androids that control robotic bodies; however, we must keep in mind that it is still a project that is in its early stages.
The brain has been developed in vitro. It does not simulate that of a human, but is a creation developed specifically for this project. In any case, like “natural brains”, it houses needs, such as receiving the necessary nutrients, being at an adequate temperature and being surrounded by a protective shell.
It is one of the latest investigations that combine biology and technology. Apart from this, researchers from the University of Tokyo recently managed to graft living human skin onto robotic surfaces, with a somewhat disturbing final appearance. We also have Neuralink chips, which already have practical results in the patient who had it implanted at the end of January, who can control computer screens or play video games just thinking about it.
Comments