The Neurally-controlled Artificial Animal: a Neural-computer Interface Between Cultured Neural Networks and a Robotic Body
32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL, 2002. [GScholar]
Living neural networks of dissociated rat cortical cells were cultured on a 60 channel multi-electrode array from MultiChannel Systems and interfaced to a robotic body (a Khepera II by K-Team). The spatio-temporal pattern of neural activity was measured in real-time to produce movements of the mobile robot via a custom computer interface. The Khepera’s onboard IR sensors acted as the sensory system, measuring distance from eight IR emitters positioned around a circular pen. This sensory information was then fed back into the neural culture by varying the temporal structure of neural stimulation as a function of distance to each sensor. Because these multi-electrode arrays allow simultaneous electrical, chemical, and optical access to a population of neurons, we can conduct detailed investigations into the mechanisms that produce changes in neural activity as a result of feedback at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Because we can culture primary cortical neurons for many months, we can examine plasticity in vitro over much longer periods than previously possible. With this simple system we hope one day to develop more advanced computational algorithms in living neural networks, leading to a greater understanding of how these networks can process and encode information, and control behavior.