Robot Controlled By Human Brain Cells 86
destinyland writes "There's a new experiment from the British researchers who created a robot controlled by cultured rat neurons. They're now using a line of human brain neurons to control robots. The neurons are placed onto a multi-electrode dish that registers the neurons' electric signals. 'Every time the robot nears an object, the electrodes generate signals to stimulate the brain. In response, the brain's output is used to drive the wheels of the robot left and right so that it avoids hitting objects. The robot has no additional control from a human or a computer — its sole means of control is from its own brain.'"
bad summary? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is it just me, or do the video and article both CLEARLY state that it's rat brain cells, not human brain cells?
Re:bad summary? (Score:4, Insightful)
Blame Kevin Warwick.
He's always exaggerating his claims, including his "I'm a cyborg" nonsense.
Re:bad summary? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, quite.
Re:Does it count? (Score:4, Insightful)
Truth is, there's nothing special about this robot. It basically uses rat neuron cells to propogate an electrical signal instead of full-length wires. But if you believe that, then you also believe there's nothing special about the human brain. It just responds to environmental stimuli in a predictable, yet seemingly complex way. Big deal.
What does the brain do? (Score:5, Insightful)
What does the brain do in this robot? It sounds like all data processing and decision making is done on silicon with the brain along for the ride.
Headline should be "Rat nerve cells get ride around lab in little cart."
Re:AI? (Score:2, Insightful)
There isn't any pixie dust in neurons.
There isn't any intelligence or emotion in bits, either. Brains aren't computers, and computers don't think. Whoever decided to call computers "thinking machines" back when a pocket calculator that took a 3 story building to house and was called a "computer" and a "thinking machine" should have been bitchslapped.