Consider the chief difference between living systems and electronics: the first is generally soft and squishy, while the latter is hard and rigid. Now, in work that could impact human-machine interfaces, biocompatible devices, soft robotics, and more, MIT engineers and colleagues have developed a soft, flexible gel that dramatically changes its conductivity upon the application of light.
Enter the growing field of ionotronics, which involves transferring data through ions, or charged molecules. Electronics does the same with electrons. But while the latter is well established, ionotronics is still being developed, with one huge exception: living systems. The cells in our bodies communicate with a variety of ions, from potassium to sodium.
Ionotronics, in turn, can provide a bridge between electronics and biological tissues. Potential applications range from soft wearable technology to human-machine interfaces.
In 2013, I interviewed a man who studies cyborgs and war for a living.
Somewhere in that conversation, Prof. Chris Hables Gray predicted a global pandemic. I chimed in that it would most likely stem from a bird flu outbreak.
We were both right. Neither of us wanted to be.
That was six years before COVID. And here we are in 2026, watching H5N1 headlines pile up again.
The point was never the prediction. The point was what he said we should do about it.
Chris did not pitch a gadget. He did not sell a forecast. He argued that surviving the century is not a technology problem; it is a citizenship problem.
In this exciting episode, we dive deep into the world of bio-inspired robotics with Prof. Auke Jan Ijspeert, a Swiss-Dutch roboticist and neuroscientist at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). As the head of the Biorobotics Laboratory, Prof. Ijspeert shares how nature serves as the ultimate blueprint for designing the robots of the future. 🌿🤖
🔑 Key Highlights:
Bio-Inspired Robotics: Explore how Prof. Ijspeert and his team are mimicking nature to create innovative robots that move and behave like animals. Neuroscience & Robotics: Learn how insights from neuroscience help reverse-engineer the sensorimotor coordination found in animals, applying it to robotic systems. From Simulation to Reality: Discover the challenges of translating robotic simulations into real-world applications. Exoskeletons & Assistive Technologies: Prof. Ijspeert discusses the development of exoskeletons for healthcare and military use, along with assistive furniture for people with limited mobility. Humanoid Robots & Autonomous Systems: Get a sneak peek into the future of autonomous robotics, from central pattern generators to humanoid robots.
💡 Why You Should Watch: Prof. Ijspeert is a trailblazer in the field of biorobotics, blending biology, neuroscience, and engineering to push the boundaries of what robots can achieve. Whether you’re a robotics enthusiast, a neuroscientist, or just curious about how nature inspires technology, this episode is packed with insights that could shape the future of robotics and artificial intelligence.
🔗 Connect with Prof. Auke Ijspeert:
https://www.epfl.ch/labs/biorob/peopl… / biorob_epfl / biorob_epfl Time Stamp 0:00 to 02:35 — Intro, Bio-Inspired Robots 02:35 to 04:13 — Neuroscience to back engineer bio-robots 04:13 to 06:22 — Mimicking nature & biorobots examples 06:22 to 07:55 — Simulation to real life translation challenges 07:55 to 09:10 — Central pattern generators & their role in robotic motion 09:10 to 10:47 — Learnings from creating bio-inspired robots 10:47 to 13:40 — EPFL Bio-Robotics laboratory 13:40 to 15:43 — Applications of Bio-robotics 15:43 to 20:05 — Exoskeleton 18:19 to 20:05 — Assertive furniture robotics 20:05 to 26:30 — exoskeleton in healthcare & military warfare 26:30 to 31:51 — Humanoid Robots 31:51 to 34:42 — Autonomous Robots 34:42 to 37:04 — Rhex Robots & Partnerships 37:04 to 40:04 — The future of robotics Watch our highest-viewed videos: 1-DR R VIJAYARAGHAVAN — PROF & PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AT TIFR India’s 1st Quantum Computer– • Quantum computer from India with Dr r vija… 2-TATA MOTORS-DRIVING THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY IN INDIA-SHAILESH CHANDRA-MD: TATA MOTORS– • TATA MOTORS-DRIVING THE FUTURE OF MOBILIT… 3-MIT REPORT PREDICTS SOCIETAL COLLAPSE BY 2040 — GAYA HERRINGTON DIR SUSTAINABILITY: KPMG • MIT Report predicts Total Societal Collaps… 4-WORLDS 1ST HUMAN HEAD TRANSPLANTATION-DR SERGIO CANAVERO — • WORLDS 1ST HUMAN HEAD TRANSPLANTATION-DR… 5-DR HAROLD KATCHER — CTO NUGENICS RESEARCH Breakthrough in Age Reversal– • BREAKTHROUGH IN AGE REVERSAL WITH YOUNGBLO… 6-How Neuroscience Will Change The Future Of Technology — Dr. James Giordano • How Neuroscience Will Change The Future Of… 7-STARTUP FROM INDIA AIMING FOR LEVEL 5 AUTONOMY — SANJEEV SHARMA CEO SWAAYATT ROBOTS — • SELF-DRIVING STARTUP FROM INDIA AIMING FOR… 8-MAN BEHIND GOOGLE QUANTUM SUPREMACY — JOHN MARTINIS — • MAN BEHIND GOOGLE QUANTUM SUPREMACY — JOHN… 9-BANKING 4.0 — BRETT KING FUTURIST, BESTSELLING AUTHOR & FOUNDER MOVEN — • BANKING 4.0 — BRETT KING FUTURIST, BESTSEL… 10-E-VTOL & HYPERLOOP-FUTURE OF INDIA” S MOBILITY-SATYANARAYANA CHAKRAVARTHY • E-VTOL & HYPERLOOP-FUTURE OF INDIA“S MOBI… 11-HOW NEUROMORPHIC COMPUTING WILL ACCELERATE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE — PROF SHUBHAM SAHAY-IIT KANPUR– • HOW NEUROMORPHIC COMPUTING WILL ACCELERATE… 12-How India Is Building a Quantum Computer — Dr. Anirban Bandyopadhyay • How India Is Building a Quantum Computer -… Connect & Follow us at: / eddieavil / change-transform-india / changetransformindia / intothechange / changetransformindia Listen to the Audio Podcast at: https://anchor.fm/transform-impossiblehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast… https://open.spotify.com/show/56IZXdz… https://www.breaker.audio/change-i-m–… https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=… Don’t Forget to Subscribe / @toctwpodcast #robot #robotics #artificialintelligence #epfl.
/ @lostpagesofscience. Discover the incredible future of biohybrid robots, the revolutionary fusion of synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and robotics! In this episode, we explore robots powered by living tissues, capable of self-repair, adaptation, and natural movements. Find out how these bioengineered robots can transform medicine, agriculture, environmental science, and prosthetics. Learn about the ethical considerations, safety challenges, and futuristic possibilities of combining biological materials with robotic systems.
🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for cutting-edge science & technology content!
📌 Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction to Biohybrid Robots. 01:30 — What Are Biohybrid Robots? 03:50 — How Scientists Build Biohybrid Robots. 06:20 — Medical Applications & Healthcare. 08:45 — Revolutionary Prosthetics. 11:00 — Environmental Biohybrid Robotics. 13:20 — Agricultural Applications. 14:50 — Ethical & Safety Considerations. 17:00 — Future Possibilities. 19:00 — Conclusion & Call to Action.
This video explores the cutting-edge use of organic human tissue in cyborg technology. Plus, an unexpected endorsement from a Sicilian family patriarch. #Cyb…
It was a bionic hand, and Nigel Ackland gripped mine like any man would, except this one whirred and clicked and carried more meaning in a single gesture than most of us pack into a lifetime of handshakes.
Nigel is gone now. We miss him. He called himself ordinary. He was anything but.
Thirteen years ago, on Singularity 1 on 1, we sat down to talk about life with a bionic arm. And somewhere in that conversation we wandered into territory the world only just got around to naming this month: the Enhanced Games.
We asked whether people would one day volunteer to be enhanced. Whether the line between fixing a body and upgrading one was ever as solid as we pretended. Whether the Paralympics might one day be the more interesting show.
In 2013, those were thought experiments. Last weekend in Las Vegas, they sold tickets.
Researchers have proposed new standards into the decades-old prosthetic donations market, improving the quality of lower limb prosthetic feet by two-thirds—a major quality of life boost for recipients.
An interdisciplinary team of charities, prosthetists and academics led by King’s College London designed and implemented the very first set of standardized regulations for exporting prosthetic feet to the Global South, reducing unusable donations from 16% to 5%.
In so doing, the team have laid the foundation for improved prosthetics provision in the UK and an ethical framework for a global circular economy of prosthetics—the first of its kind.
Thirteen years ago, I sat down with a filmmaker who had spent his life warning us about a future we are now living inside.
Godfrey Reggio is the director of Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqoyqatsi, the Qatsi trilogy. Koyaanisqatsi is a Hopi word. It means life out of balance.
In our conversation, he said something I have never been able to shake:
“It’s our behavior that determines the content of our mind. We become what we do. We become what we see. We become the routine that we are a part of.”
Read that again. Slowly.
Now look at your phone. Look at your feed. Look at the average screen time of the people around you, including yourself.
Northwestern University engineers developed flexible, printed artificial neurons that communicate directly with living brain cells, marking a major breakthrough for brain-machine interfaces and neuroprosthetics. Using aerosol jet printing with materials like molybdenum disulfide, these devices generate signals that trigger responses in mouse brain tissue.
#neurons #braincells #wion.
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