Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Living Robot Has Biological Brain
The rat brain robots created by a team of scientists at the University of Reading are apparently not done learning. In a real sense, it is a living robot.
The robot has an actual, living brain consisting of rat neurons. The cells are removed from rat fetuses and then disentangled from each other with an enzyme bath. Finally, the cells are spread over a multi-electrode array (MEA) bathed in a nutrient-rich medium. Impulses from its robotic part are received; the neurons organize themselves and fire electrical signals back. This feedback loop has been sufficient to allow the rat neurons to drive Gordon, a small robot.
(Gordon, a rat neuron-controlled robot video)
To me, the most interesting recent development is the creation of new sensor input devices to the robot. “We are looking to increase the range of sensory input potentially with infrared and other signals,” says Kevin Warwick, a professor of cybernetics and one of the principle designers of the project.
This really brings up some science fictional possibilities. What would it be like for a living brain to be able to see X-ray sources in the sky? What about a brain that was able to make sense of the data derived from a a company's complete financial records? Talk about a head for business.
What if you connected a blank, manufactured brain to an fMRI and let it look at the data streaming forth from a person's brain under defined stimulus? Would it know where you have been? Or maybe what kind of person you are?
This kind of combination of living tissue with a mechanical or sensory portion reminds me strongly of such devices as Philip K. Dick's swibble from his 1955 story Service Call.
The directing neurological tissue that forms the basis of the swibble is alive, certainly, in the sense that it grows, thinks, feeds, excretes waste. Yes, it's definitely alive. But the swibble, as a functioning whole, is a manufactured item. The organic tissue is inserted in the master tank and then sealed.
(Read more about PKD's swibble)
Fans of Cordwainer Smith will (rightly) chide me if I fail to mention the Laminated Mouse Brain Computer from his 1962 classic Think Blue, Count Two. And don't forget the 'head cheese' cultured brains from Peter Watts' 1999 novel Starfish (if you're looking for up-to-the-minute sf, pick up the paperback - don't let the date fool you).
In Dick's story, swibbles needed to be protected from parasites, but I don't think that he wrote about the demise of the organism/device. Warwick's rat brains grow old in a few months and gradually lose their power to acquire new pathways. There are limits to living robots, after all.
If you haven't read it, this story of a manufactured living brain forms an interesting counterpoint to this previous story of a project in which researchers recreate the neurons and synapses as circuits of transistors and capacitors to create a "chip brain."
Read more at SEED Magazine. Choose from among 134 sf technologies and ideas from Philip K. Dick's books.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/29/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...' Harry Harrison, 1956.
Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'- Philip K. Dick, 1957.
Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!
Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...' - JW Groves, 1950.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
