Category Archives: Biology

The Future of Biomimetic Machines

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Convergent Science Network’s Anna Mura and Team Win Best Exhibit at This Year’s FET11 Conference in Budapest, Hungary

 

Diagram of neuroprosthetic implant containing the cerebellar chip, electrodes and power cords

The exhibit featured demonstrations which displayed the potential of biomimetic systems to transform the way information and communication technologies are developed and applied in today’s world. It showcased RENACHIP: a cerebellar chip which could be implemented as a feasible solution for the recovery of a lost learning function.

Aside from this revolutionary neuroprosthetic, the display also included: a biomimetic chemical sensing robot, a wearable device that allows exploration of complex brain data and the biomimetic robot icub pictured to the right with the Neelie Kroes, one of the Vice Presidents of the European Commission.

Check out this video featuring ¨Walking Moth¨, a chemical sensing robot

 

Read on to find out about and SEE some of the other amazing exhibits at FET11
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Studying the Evolution of Altruism Through Robots

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A New Study by Dario Floreano

Dario Floreano and his team at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in Lausanne, Switzerland, have recently used robots to study the evolution of social behaviour. For years, a question that has plagued evolutionary biologists has been the case of how and why altruistic behaviour has evolved in groups. It’s obvious that altruistic behaviour normally implies risk to the actor. In the worst case scenario it can even mean death.  So, on the surface, altruism appears to go against the primal force that drives life at large: An individual’s drive to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation.

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