Robot controlled by human ‘brain on chip’ is a world first: scientists

This humanoid robot has a mind of its own.

Researchers at Tianjin University in China have created a robot that is controlled by human brain cells in a first-of-its-kind breakthrough in biocomputation.

The South China Morning Post ominously reported that it could lead to “the development of hybrid human-robot intelligence.”

Simply put, the technological advancement was described by the university as being a “brain on a chip.”

Stem cells that were destined to become part of the human brain were used to develop the action figure-esque robot.

When paired with an electrode on a computer chip, it is able to encode and decode to have its mechanical vessel complete a bevy of tasks. Researchers describe the project as “the world’s first open-source brain-on-chip intelligent complex information interaction system.”

In addition to driving the robot, the de facto brain implant can help it avoid obstacles, track targets, and manage its arm use to grasp things, according to New Atlas. It does not have eyes and can only respond through electrical signals and sensory.

The outlet also reported that the brain-looking dome atop the Megazord doppelganger is purely a cosmetic representation and not the actual tissue in use.

Another potential use for the robotics breakthrough is the potential to repair damage to a human’s cerebral cortex among other neurological healing techniques.

“Brain organoid transplants are considered a promising strategy for restoring brain function by replacing lost neurons and reconstructing neural circuits,” the team wrote in their research, according to the South China Morning Post.

It builds on the dedicated research of Nueralink, an Elon Musk-founded research company focusing on the medicinal benefits of chip implementation in people.