Lab-grown human brain cells drive virtual butterfly in simulation
Researchers affiliated with the neuroscience platform FinalSpark have devised a 3D simulation depicting a butterfly that's directed by human brain cells.
"It represents a significant step towards the realization of concepts previously confined to science fiction, such as The Matrix, and opens up new avenues for research in cognitive preservation and mind uploading," said software developer Daniel Burger in a summary of the project and an associated video.
FinalSpark, a Switzerland-based startup, offers its Neuroplatform so researchers interested in biocomputing can write code that interacts with brain organoids, which are pea-sized mini-brains derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.
According to Burger, these cells are maintained in incubators at 37°C – more cell sauna than The Matrix. While the cells lack the complexity of the human brain, they'll nonetheless respond to stimuli through a multi-electrode array (MEA) that supports two-way electrical communication.
As a platform demonstration, Burger and colleagues created a virtual world with a butterfly model. The brain organoids watch for human input signals, which in this case take the form of clicks on the virtual world scene. The associated Python software computes whether the click event occurred within the butterfly's field of view. Then the brain neurons respond to the stimuli by telling the butterfly model to fly toward the click event location or not.
