Rat-Brained Robots Take Their First Steps

missb writes "Brain tissue cultured from rats has controlled a wheeled robot around a lab, according to New Scientist this week. Researchers in the UK have harnessed signals from thousands of disembodied rat neurons, and manipulated them to get a robot to respond to instructions. The team at the University of Reading in the UK hope their research will help provide treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's and epilepsy."

Rat-Brained overlords

[by Anonymous Coward]

I for one welcome our new Rat-Brained Robot overlords!

Re:Rat-Brained overlords

[colmore (56499)]

Does anyone else out there take science fiction just a *little* bit seriously and think that some of the robotics innovations over the past 10 or 15 years might be a little bit dangerous?

AI is actually a little bit impressive, there just isn't a market for it yet.

Re:Rat-Brained overlords

[colmore (56499)]

Just because White Man's Science has yet to be stricken down by the angered Old Gods doesn't mean it won't.

Re:Rat-Brained overlords

[xaositects (786749)]

Don't forget:

Phn'glui M'gl wna'f, Cthulhu R'lyeh Wgha Nagl Ftaghn

Re:Rat-Brained overlords

[Brad1138 (590148)]

I know this is a little off topic but, I Googled "Phn'glui M'gl wna'f, Cthulhu R'lyeh Wgha Nagl Ftaghn" the second listing was from the parent post above! Indexed by Google about 90 min. after it was posted. Forget welcoming our Rat brained overlords, better watch out for our all knowing Google Overlords.

Robotic Slavery

[Original Replica (908688)]

just as we cast off our own faith in our gods, cursing them and labeling them as myths, our own creations, built in our own image, will inevitably do the same. The only question is this: will our robots succeed in destroying us, or will we succeed in destroying them?

I don't know if it is a question of destruction or of domination. Will we create a race of AI robots for the sole purpose of enslaving them? If we have the relationship with our robots of Creator/Creation will that make us slave owners once AI achieves sentience? Look at robotic factories, the work long hours for no pay and are modified or replaced or sold at the whim of their owner, if you did that with a person they would be a slave. Of course they are machines not people so it is just a factory not slavery. But if those robots where sentient would it change the moral argument. If that argument concludes that it would in fact be slavery, is there any reason to build AI robots if we cannot treat them as slaves? I don't want to have to allow my Roomba the freedom to go work for someone else, or the right to be paid for it's work.

Re:

[jacquesm (154384)]

I for one am sick and tired of researchers hijacking Alzheimers and other diseases to legitimize their work.

Even if your work is not even remotely related just mentioning that one day maybe you will possibly contribute a tiny little bit then everybody will give you all the news coverage you could possibly want.

Re:Rat-Brained overlords

[Alzheimers (467217)]

Agreed. Please stop hijacking me!

Re:

[Metasquares (555685)]

Yeah, my first thought was "this is not even remotely related to Alzheimer's, and even relating it to epilepsy is a stretch." It's not about publicity, though; it's about funding.

Names please.

[snspdaarf (1314399)]

What was the lead researcher's name? Davros?

Re:Names please.

[SirLurksAlot (1169039)]

This gives a whole new meaning to "EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE!"

Re:Names please.

[Chris Mattern (191822)]

The big question is can it climb stairs. I mean how can you conquer the Universe if you can't even climb stairs.

You level the building.

Re:

[Alzheimers (467217)]

You can't have me for less than $250 a day, and I don't do windows.

What does it do when you show it cheese ?

[slashdotlurker (1113853)]

Curious minds want to know.

Re:

[Oktober Sunset (838224)]

Noting much, but if you show it a binary representation of some cheese, that gets it's attention.

Nothing, because...

[Chemisor (97276)]

Nothing, because rats do not like cheese [curdnerds.com].

Remember Saturn 3?

[mlwmohawk (801821)]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079285/ [imdb.com]

That outcome is very much exaggerated.

[Futurepower(R) (558542)]

"The team at the University of Reading in the UK hope their research will help provide treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's and epilepsy."

That outcome is very much exaggerated, apparently to try to get more attention. Any such result would depend on other huge advancements not yet made.

It's Kevin Warwick.

[gedhrel (241953)]

Hugely inflated claims? From Captain Cyborg? To generate press attention?

Film, as they say, at eleven.

Re:

[Joe Tie. (567096)]

To be fair, you kind of have to play the game to get funding at times. At least "It'll save the lives of our troops!" wasn't on there.

At present it is just an interconnect

[EmbeddedJanitor (597831)]

They put a 1V signal in and find a place where a 100mV signal shows itself and take that as an output. That is then used to stimulate the robot platform's turning logic.

A random bag of paper clips would do the same.

Call me back when they have decision making.

Re:

[TapeCutter (624760)]

"What is wrong is Slashdot carrying a lot of stories about fake science that happens to want investors.

This site is about the comments. The articles feed the debates, sometimes science is seen as crap and sometimes it's the other way around. I know of no other place where after the initial mod frenzy settles can you find such an array of both proffesional and amature experts commenting on the internet equivalent of the "science" section in a global newsagent. All other science orientated boards I know of

this is old news

[iXiXi (659985)]

We have had these running around here for years. We just called them MBA's.

Re:

[Dekortage (697532)]

They tried a mass of politician neurons first, but the robot kept speeding directly for the wall.

Re:

[UncleTogie (1004853)]

They tried a mass of politician neurons first, but the robot kept speeding directly for the wall.

...and tried to shag the wall once it reached it...

next step: politics

[syrinx (106469)]

Surely a rat brain would be an improvement over the standard politician's brain.

Are the rats by any chance named....

[8127972 (73495)]

.... Morbius? [wikipedia.org]

Aaargh

[Sockatume (732728)]

Suddenly, I just can't stop screaming.

What was that sound?

[Red Flayer (890720)]

It was the whoosh of grant money going down the drain.

This work will hopefully contribute to our knowledge of how brains work, but its potential should not be exaggerated, says Potter. "This system is a model. Everything it does is merely similar to what goes on in a brain, it's not really the same thing. We can learn about the brain - but it may mislead us."

What? Is he serious, making a statement like that? Does he think grants grow on trees, that he can so blithely disregard the opportunity for sensationalistic coverage and the resultant exposure to those who issue private grants? Sure, Alzheimer's is mentioned, which is a nice hook, but he needs to make ridiculous claims in order to break through the wall of grant-deniers.

Sheesh. What is the academic world coming to, that they make responsible statements regarding their research?

Jack the sound barrier. Bring the noise!

[laejoh (648921)]

Will these rat things be programmed never to break the sound barrier in a populated area?

Cool name

[wcrowe (94389)]

"Rat-Brained Robots" would make a good name for a punk band.

Future LucasArts project...

[fahrbot-bot (874524)]

Reading about disembodied rat-brains and what George Lucas can do with a script got me thinking about future projects for LucasArts... Announcing the new animated film from George Lucas, Scott Adams and George Romero, Night of the Living Ratbert, featuring the disembodied brain of Jar Jar.

• Qui-Gon: You almost got us killed. Are you brainless?
• Jar Jar: I spake.
• Qui-Gon: The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.
• Jar Jar: "The Bosses would do terrible tings to me, terrible tings to me if me goin' back dere!"
• Qui-Gon: "Do you hear that? "
• Jar Jar:"Yah."
• Qui-Gon: "That is the sound of a thousand disembodied rat-brains heading this way."
  Off in the distance: "Brains, braaiinnss..."
• Qui-Gon: (Starts hacking with lightsaber.)
• Jar Jar: Messa feel strange... Brains, braaiinnss...

Where have all the good people gone?

[OxFF52 (1126819)]

I found this article... then checked Slashdot.

Where have all the intelligent slashdotters gone? Let's all STOP trying to come up with the funniest one-liner and talk about the subject at hand here.

They have taken brain cells and taught them to control a robot. This is simply freakin' astounding!

What else has been done related to this such as MEMS? Anyone?

Re:

[ZonkerWilliam (953437)]

The intelligent ones are still here, mostly. What you see as funny one-liners are intelligent people who are frustrated by over-hyped, almost never delivered technical promises and poorly communicated media publications that are only in it to make a buck. How many times have you heard "revolutionary" or "breakthrough" in an article? True, having robot's controlled by neural tissue is astounding, but let's see something really come out of it before we get to impressed!

I for one

[xstonedogx (814876)]

I for one, congratulate the RIAA for taking their first steps.

So..

[jvkjvk (102057)]

A real stainless steel rat?

Shit.

[gcnaddict (841664)]

So we need to expect a cyborg rat invasion now?

I, for the rest, do not welcome our rat brained robotic overlords.

Re:

[pha7boy (1242512)]

and welcome ye shall. Because, nothing, absolutely NOTHING, can go wrong when you put rat brains into metallic bodies. No, nothing can go wrong. I also hope they add those gold plated nano-wires that convert heat to electricity, so they can be autonomous for years on end. *walks away whistling as the world burns behind him*

Re:Obligatory..

[XxtraLarGe (551297)]

What exactly would robots with rat brains want to do, since they can't do any of their natural biological functions?

Re:Obligatory..

[TheNucleon (865817)]

Conquer the world, of course. This was the first conclusion I came to.

Re:Obligatory..

[Yvan256 (722131)]

The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world.

Re:

[just_another_sean (919159)]

PITA is going to have a field day with this one.

It's PETA. Not Pain In The Ass (although some do feel that way about them); People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

As to whether or not said field day will occur, I will abstain from commenting as I have not RTFA. But it would not surprise me if they do.

Re:

[oldspewey (1303305)]

Actually GP is correct ... he is referring to People for the Insensitive Treatment of Animals.

Re:

[juiceboxfan (990017)]

Am I the only one who fails to see how these rodent zombie robots have anything to do with Alzheimer's?

Obviously, you get more funding if you include a hot research topic in the project description.

Re:

[Normal Dan (1053064)]

Researchers were all like, "Hey, let's build a robot with a rat brain, that will be fun!" But then one of them said, "But how will we fund this pointless yet awesome endeavor?". To that the reply was, "umm... let's just tell everyone it'll help cure Alzheimer's or epilepsy or autism or something, they'll have to fund it then."

Re:What in the...

[Red Flayer (890720)]

Am I the only one who fails to see how these rodent zombie robots have anything to do with Alzheimer's?

Perhaps you could try RTFAing, then applying some logical thought.

They're studying how disassociated nerons make new connections and can be trained to reliably respond to stimuli, and how that response can be used to create predictable behavior.

Now go ahead STFW for the pathophysiology of Alzheimers, and it's pretty easy to see how this could be useful in understanding Alzheimers, and perhaps in (eventually, with a lot of steps inbetween) help either prevent it, delay its onset, or reverse it.

Re:What in the...

[Red Flayer (890720)]

Well, the robot in this case performs two functions: one is to provide the stimuli, one is to measure the response. It's a machine capable of locomotion.

The reason for the bluetooth is because the braincell broth needs to be maintained at a certain temperature and kept stable, and wireless is probably the best way to make sure the robot doesn't damage the brain cells or upset their alignment, say by jerking on an electrode tether.

I see your point, it does seem awfully gimmicky... but the nice thing about it is that it is modular. Their "sensory" system can be swapped out easily for additonal experiments.

Re:What in the...

[Chris Burke (6130)]

Am I the only one who fails to see how these rodent zombie robots have anything to do with Alzheimer's?

Well I assume it's because having a zombie rat robot come at you is something not even an Alzheimer's sufferer would forget.

Re:

[BPPG (1181851)]

What are we going to do tomorrow night?

The same thing we do every night, TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

Re:

[blincoln (592401)]

What if the damned thing exhibits delta waves at some point?

I was also thinking along those lines. Since this research uses fetal brain tissue, the animal (or potentially human) brain cells can't really remember being anything else, but it's still pretty eerie trying to imagine what the experience would be like if there were enough cells (however many that is) for consciousness.

I think there are some amazing potential applications for this type of research, but I also have a feeling that eventually someone