Researchers from China’s Tianjin University and Southern University of Science and Technology have reportedly developed a robot with a lab-grown artificial brain.
According to local media, the ‘brain-on-chip’ technology has been used to train the machine to perform various tasks.
Scientists have reportedly combined brain organoid with a neural interface chip to power the complex machine. According to Tianjin University, the robot is trained to easily grasp objects and avoid obstacles.
In vitro cultured ‘brains’
In general, brain organoids are three-dimensional aggregates in vitro created by the self-organization and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. They can become brain-like tissues that recapitulate aspects of the structure of a developing brain.
Ming Dong, vice president of Tianjin University, said it is a technology that uses in vitro grown “brains” – such as brain organoids – linked to an electrode chip to form a brain-on-a-chip, SCMP reported.
Hybrid human-robot intelligence
Brain-on-chip technology is part of brain-computer interfaces that combine the brain’s electrical signals 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 a computer or mobile device wherever you are.
Chinese researchers believe that this new development could help them develop a hybrid human-robot intelligence.
Brainy computer technology
Researchers claimed it is “the world’s first open-source brain-on-a-chip intelligent complex information interaction system” and could lead to the development of brain-like computers.
In their recent paper published in the Oxford University Press journal Brain, they argued that human brain organoids provide 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, stated that although 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 SCMP.
In their paper, the team wrote that low-intensity ultrasound stimulation promotes the development and integration of brain organoids, providing a strategy for treating neurodevelopmental disorders and repairing cortical damage.
After transplantation of organoid grafts into the injured somatosensory cortex of adult mice, longitudinal electrophysiological recordings and histological assays show that ultrasound-treated organoid grafts undergo advanced maturation, researchers said.
The university also said the team’s use of non-invasive, low-intensity ultrasound treatment can help form and develop neural networks, providing a better foundation for computing, the media report said.
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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Prabhat is a technology and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing about modern weapons and emerging technology, he has also covered global politics and business. He was previously associated with well-known media houses including International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.