Science fiction often envisions human brains interfacing directly with machines, walking around as robots. China has made strides towards this vision, developing its first brain-controlled robot.
According to the South China Morning Post, researchers from Tianjin University have engineered a cluster of human brain cells capable of directing a humanoid robot. This development is referred to as a “brain on a chip.”
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The research team discovered that these brain cells can learn faster than traditional artificial intelligence models. This ability allows the cells to navigate obstacles, track targets, and manipulate objects with robotic arms.
Development of the Brain-Controlled Robot
New Atlas reports that the brain-controlled robot is a collaborative project between Tianjin University’s Haihe Laboratory of Brain-Computer Interaction and Human-Computer Integration and the Southern University of Science and Technology.
Researchers began by growing human brain cells using low-intensity focused ultrasound stimulation. These cells were then formed into a ball-shaped organoid.
The team at Tianjin University asserts that this organic mass can serve as the brain of the robot. The humanoid is expected to learn tasks such as avoiding obstacles, tracking targets, and using its arms and hands to grasp various objects.
Training and Future Applications
The brain organoid perceives its environment through electrical signals. Theoretically, it can practice controlling the robot in a simulated environment, reducing the risk of damage during training.
New Atlas describes the images of this project as “demonstration diagrams of future application scenarios.” As science and technology advance, these concepts are rapidly approaching reality.
For instance, Neuralink has successfully implanted a computer chip in a human brain, enabling the control of a computer through thought alone.
Ethical Considerations
The creation of a brain-controlled robot represents a significant leap forward, though it raises profound ethical questions. The potential of integrating human brain cells into machines highlights the superiority of biological systems over current AI models. Brett Kagan, Chief Scientific Officer of Cortical Labs, stated:
“The biological systems, even as basic and janky as they are right now, are still outperforming the best deep learning algorithms that people have generated. That’s pretty wild.”
As this technology progresses, society will need to address the ethical implications and continue research and development to fully realize its potential.