Researchers in very different areas have tried in recent years to use electronics to interface with living beings. At a Japanese lab, researchers looked at the behavioral response of insects to electric stimulation. A German group used the antennae of an insect to build a hybrid biosensor. This allows examining signal propagation, nervous interaction, learning and adaptation among larger groups of neurons. On a larger scale, implants on human patients try to restore lost body function by artificialy stimulaing muscles with dysfunctional motor nerves or by stimulating sensory neurons in order to bypass damaged receptor cells and pass on information to the brain.
Cochlear implants are a prime example of a successful electronic interface to the brain.
Several groups in the USA and in Germany are working now on a retinal implant designed to bypass a dysfunctional retinal pigment layer by directly stimulating the ganglion layer of the retina. As these new and more powerful electronic interfaces to the nervous system are becoming available we will gain a better understanding of the complex neural networks. Despite their dimunitive brains and relatively simple nervous systems, insects are remarkably adept at perceiving their environment and navigating in it. Work in our laboratory and elswhere seeks to understand the visual principles by which these creatures avoid collisions with objects, gauge their distances, negotiate narrow gaps, regulate flight speed, perform smooth landings, estimate distance flown, and find their way back home effortlessly. This talk will highlight some of these principles, as well as their embodiment in autonomously navigating robots.