Parallel processing in computing --- Brainet
The team sent electrical pulses to all four rats and rewarded them when they synchronised their brain activity. After 10 training sessions, the rats were able to do this 61 per cent of the time. This synchronous brain activity can be put to work as a computer to perform tasks like information storage and pattern recognition, says Nicolelis. "We send a message to the brains, the brains incorporate that message, and we can retrieve the message later," he says.
Dividing the computing of a task between multiple brains is similar to sharing computations between multiple processors in modern computers,
"If you could collaboratively solve common problems [using a brainet], it would be a way to leverage the skills of different individuals for a common goal."
This could become quite relevant in future control systems if the setup can be made simple to keep alive and stable.
I was doing some follow-up on a story about people controlling aircraft with their brainwaves (through EEG) when I ran into this really cool story. The idea of growing the neurons in patterns is incidentally very similar to the Physarium slime-mold stuff that Dario and me were curious about a little while ago.
Oh, I thought that was on the little robot that was controlled by rat neurons and bumped into EVERYTHING.
The interesting thing here is that they add a surface patterning (with some kind of nutrient) to control the growth of cells. (Maybe that is not new either, though.)
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