A neurally controlled animat is the conjunction of
#a
cultured neuronal network
A cultured neuronal network is a cell culture of neurons that is used as a model to study the central nervous system, especially the brain. Often, cultured neuronal networks are connected to an input/output device such as a multi-electrode array ( ...
#a virtual or physical robotic body, the
Animat
Animat are artificial animals and is a contraction of animal and materials. The term includes physical robots and virtual simulations. The animat model includes features of a simple animal capable of interacting with its environment. It is, therefo ...
, "living" in a
virtual computer generated environment or in a physical arena, connected to this array
Patterns of neural activity are used to control the virtual body, and the computer is used as a sensory device to provide electrical feedback to the neural network about the Animat's movement in the virtual environment.
The current aim of the Animat research is to study the
neuronal
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. No ...
activity and plasticity when learning and processing information in order to find a
mathematical model
A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...
for the neural network, and to determine how information is processed and encoded in the rat cortex.
It leads towards interesting questions about
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
theories as well.
References
* T. B., Demarse, D. A. Wagenaar, A. W. Blau and S. M. Potter, ‘Neurally controlled computer-simulated animals: a new tool for studying learning and memory in vitro’ in ''Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting'', (2000) SFN ID: 2961.
* T. B., Demarse, D. A. Wagenaar, A. W. Blau and S. M. Potter, (2001)
‘The neurally controlled Animat: biological brains acting with simulated bodies’ ''Autonomous Robots'' no.11, pp.305–310
External links
{{tech-stub
Neural circuits
Neural engineering