A real programming challenge

Its hard enough to make an iCreate avoid a wall, imagine trying to get a biological brain do something useful.

"Life for Warwick’s robot began when his team at the University of Reading spread rat neurons onto an array of electrodes. After about 20 minutes, the neurons began to form connections with one another. “It’s an innate response of the neurons,” says Warwick, “they try to link up and start communicating.”

For the next week the team fed the developing brain a liquid containing nutrients and minerals. And once the neurons established a network sufficiently capable of responding to electrical inputs from the electrode array, they connected the newly formed brain to a simple robot body consisting of two wheels and a sonar sensor. "

Read the article here.

A Nanorobotics special issue of The International Journal of Robotics

Table of Contents is available online at:
http://ijr.sagepub.com/content/vol28/issue4/?etoc

Editorial: Special Issue on Current State of the Art and Future
Challenges in Nanorobotics
Constantinos Mavroidis and Antoine Ferreira
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 419-420
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/4/419

Computational Studies of a Protein-based Nanoactuator for Nanogripping
Applications
Gaurav Sharma, Constantinos Mavroidis, Kaushal Rege, Martin L.
Yarmush, and David Budil
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 421-435
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/421

Multiscale Design and Modeling of Protein-based Nanomechanisms for
Nanorobotics
Mustapha Hamdi and Antoine Ferreira
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 436-449
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/436

Residue Level Three-dimensional Workspace Maps for Conformational
Trajectory Planning of Proteins
Christopher Madden, Peter Bohnenkamp, Kazem Kazerounian, and Horea
T. Ilies
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 450-463
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/450

Towards Microcantilever-based Force Sensing and Manipulation: Modeling,
Control Development and Implementation
Reza Saeidpourazar and Nader Jalili
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 464-483
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/464

A Scaled Bilateral Control System for Experimental One-dimensional
Teleoperated Nanomanipulation
Cagdas D. Onal and Metin Sitti
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 484-497
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/484

Real-time Rigid-body Visual Tracking in a Scanning Electron Microscope
Bradley E. Kratochvil, Lixin Dong, and Bradley J. Nelson
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 498-511
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/498

Algorithms and Software for Nanomanipulation with Atomic Force Microscopes
A.A.G. Requicha, D.J. Arbuckle, B. Mokaberi, and J. Yun
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 512-522
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/512

Automated Nanomanufacturing System to Assemble Carbon Nanotube Based Devices
King Wai Chui Lai, Ning Xi, Carmen Kar Man Fung, Jiangbo Zhang,
Hongzhi Chen, Yilun Luo, and Uchechukwu C. Wejinya
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 523-536
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/523

Nanofabrication, Nanoinstrumentation and Nanoassembly by Nanorobotic
Manipulation
Toshio Fukuda, Masahiro Nakajima, Pou Liu, and Haitham ElShimy
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 537-547
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/537

Meeting the Challenge of Building Diamondoid Medical Nanorobots
Robert A. Freitas, Jr
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 548-557
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/548

Nanorobot for Brain Aneurysm
Adriano Cavalcanti, Bijan Shirinzadeh, Toshio Fukuda, and Seiichi Ikeda
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 558-570
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/558

Flagellated Magnetotactic Bacteria as Controlled MRI-trackable
Propulsion and Steering Systems for Medical Nanorobots Operating in the
Human Microvasculature
Sylvain Martel, Mahmood Mohammadi, Ouajdi Felfoul, Zhao Lu, and
Pierre Pouponneau
The International Journal of Robotics Research 2009;28 571-582
http://ijr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/28/4/571

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"Big Dog" going to Afghanistan?

I am not convinced of the reliability of this story (and there is nothing on Boston Dynamics website), but folks in Afghanistan might soon be in for an entertaining sight:

"Multiple news sources have reported that the US Military is deploying "BigDogs" to Afghanistan to assist in the fight against the enemy."

http://www.shadowspear.com/special_operations_kit/1289.html