Researchers from China’s Tianjin University and Southern University of Science and Technology have reportedly developed a robot with an artificial brain grown in a lab.
According to local media, Brain-on-chip technology was used to train the machine to perform various tasks.
Scientists have reportedly combined a brain organoid with a neural interface chip to power a complex machine. The robot was trained to easily grasp objects and avoid obstacles, according to Tianjin University.
In-vitro Cultured “Brain”
In general, brain organoids are in vitro three-dimensional aggregates formed by the self-organization and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. They can become brain-like tissues that recapitulate aspects of the developing brain structure.
Ming Dong, vice president of Tianjin University, said it is a technology that uses in vitro cultured “brain” — such as brain organoids — connected to an electrode chip to create a brain-on-a-chip, SCMP reported.
Human-robot hybrid intelligence
Brain on chip technology is part of a brain-computer interface that combines electrical signals from the brain with external computing power. It recently gained widespread attention after Elon Musk launched the Neuralink chip, a brain-computer interface that is fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let you control your computer or mobile device wherever you are.
With the new development, Chinese scientists believe it can help them build hybrid human-robot intelligence.
Brain-like computing
The researchers claimed it was “the world’s first open system of intelligent complex brain-on-a-chip information interactions” and could lead to the development of brain-like computing.
In their recent paper published in Brain Oxford University Press, they report that human brain organoids represent a remarkable platform for modeling neurological disorders and a promising approach to brain repair. However, the effects of physical stimulation on their development and integration remain unclear.
Li Xiaohong, a professor at Tianjin University, said that while brain organoids were considered the most promising model of basic intelligence, the technology still faced “bottlenecks such as low developmental maturity and insufficient nutrient supply,” according to the SCMP.
In their paper, the team wrote that low-intensity ultrasound stimulation advances the development and integration of brain organoids, providing a strategy for treating neurodevelopmental disorders and repairing cortical damage.
After organoid graft transplantation into injured somatosensory cortices of adult mice, longitudinal electrophysiological recordings and histological tests reveal that ultrasound-treated organoid grafts undergo advanced maturation, researchers report.
The university also said the use of non-invasive, low-intensity ultrasound treatment could help neural networks form and mature, providing a better basis for computing, according to a media report.
ABOUT THE EDITORIAL
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra A graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Prabhat is a technology and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing about modern weapons and new technologies, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has earlier been associated with well-known media houses including International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.