|
Researchers Create Robot Driven by Moth's Brain |
| on 27-11-2007 16:56 |
| Editor's rating |
 |
|
| Views |
370  |
|
|
|
 In a notion taken from science fiction afficionados, University of Arizona researchers presented a robot that moves by using the brain impulses of a moth.
The robot’s motion is guided by a tiny electrode implanted in the moth’s brain, Higgins said, specifically to a single neuron that is responsible for keeping the moth’s vision steady during flight. The neuron transmits electrical signals which are then amplified in the robot's base and through a mathematical formula, a computer translates the signals into action, making the robot move.
The moth is immobilize inside a plastic tube mounted atop the 6-inch-tall wheeled robot. To get the moth to imitate flight, Higgins and his team placed the moth in its apparatus on a circular platform surrounded by a 14-inch-high revolving wall painted with vertical stripes. The moth's neuron reacts to the movement of the stripes and the process begins.
The brain of a moth is about the size of a grain of rice. Although small, “its compact size and simplicity allows for an efficient way to do brain research,” Higgins said.
Source: Physorg
Recommend this article...
Last update: 27-11-2007 16:59
Users' Comments (0) 
|
|
|
PlaniSim Program (698)
RS MEDIA SUITE 1.2 (433)
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}