Living neuronal network interacting with moving robot

Abstract

An interaction with the environment through the body is critical for emergency of intelligence.From the point of view, the researches, in which models of intelligence are pursued by the robot interacted to the real world, are caught on in recent years. We picked out the living neuronal cells from a brain, and make the neurons reconstruct complex networks autonomously on multi-electrode arrays. Using the system we analyzed relationships between features of a neuronal cell and dynamics of a reconstructed neuronal network. We proposed a hypothesis; giving a robot body to this system and carrying out the interaction to environment generate the specific rules in the spatiotemporal pattern of nerve electrical activities, in other word, "intelligence". To elucidate the hypothesis, we reconstructed networks of rat hippocampal neurons on multi-electrode array probe of multi-site recording system for extracellular potential of neurons and connect the living neuronal network to miniature moving robot, Khepera.