When most
people hear the term “robot” they picture a mass of lumbering metal powered by
batteries, motors, electrical wires and circuit boards. However, recent
advancements have forced me to rethink my own definition of a field I’ve been
dabbling in for over a decade. The term robot has no reference to any
mechanical or electrical epistemology and in fact, is derived from the Czech
word robotnik, or “slave.” To
consider things in a less draconian manner, robots are simply things that are
programmed and controlled without their own direct sense of autonomy.
If we broaden
our understanding of the field and try to apply it to other systems, we find
some very interesting implications, particularly in the realm of biology.
Biological entities are no strangers to the concept of closed loop control
systems: a clustering of things that work together in a feedback loop to
regulate the behaviour of a system. Just look at how well the human body
regulates its own temperature, blood chemistry, hydration and motion. However,
what happens when aspects of our feedback loop break down?
In the case of
motion, this is a problem we know all too well in cases of paraplegia,
quadriplegia and other neuromuscular disorders. These conditions are typically
caused by a severing or degradation of the signal between our controller (the
brain) and our actuators (the muscles). We are in essence admitting defeat to
the problem of a snipped wire. While teams around the world are attempting to
solve these problems through the application of exoskeletons (don’t get me
wrong, this is awesome), why should we neglect the still functional motors we
have inside of our limbs?
I realize that
the problem of replicating the human nervous system is far more complicated
than I’m letting on, however, I urge you to let your mind drift into the future
with me. Imagine if every time a paralysed individual wanted to move their
legs, the neurological firing which would normally fall on dead synapses was
picked up by a very sensitive device to measure the electrical signals in the
nervous system. Using some sort of signal conditioner, we could interpret the intent
of each of these signals (kick, step forward, stand, etc.). Then, using the
principles of functional electrical stimulation (FES), we could generate
artificial signals on the muscular side that would essentially shock muscles
back to life in a coordinated manner to replicate the intent of motion. In the
absence of simply soldering a few nerves back together, we’re creating a
complicated bridge around the point of disconnect by using sensors, A/D
converters, and electrical impulses to replicate signals.
As crazy as
this sounds, there are already a handful of organizations dabbling in this
field. Companies such as Bioness, Axio Bionics, and Odstock currently produce
open-loop FES devices intended to activate muscles for the purpose of
rehabilitation and simplistic closed loop devices to help augment cases of
partial motion loss. These rudimentary closed loop systems often work where an
individual still has some motion intact and, by detecting footfalls, they
provide a small jolt of electricity to help with stability and speed.
Current
limitations on systems for full paralysis as described previously are twofold.
First, detecting and processing the signals in the body is extremely difficult
because our nervous system does not operate like the AC or DC currents we are
used to; it operates through a differential of charged ionic particles
distributed on different sides of a nerve cell membrane and it operates at
extremely low amperage. Second, when applying stimulation to the muscles,
output is not a simple case of on/off, but a perfect coordination of multiple
muscles in a dynamic and adaptive way. In short, our control system would have
to be exceptionally precise, near-real time, and massively robust.
However,
assuming we can overcome these challenges, the implications of this emerging
technology reach far beyond aiding the disabled. If we want to let our minds
truly wander into the realm of the unknown, consider the application of biological
robotics when combined with artificially manufactured tissues and organs (think
bio 3D printing). In many cases, biological systems are more efficient and
powerful than mechanical ones and, if we could custom manufacture bio-motors
and actuators to integrate into the products and systems we design, we could
generate a whole new type of device. We could begin to build hybrid bio-mech
devices that leverage the strength, precision, and durability of mechanical designs
with the efficiency, responsiveness, and adaptability of biological systems.
Given that
these “biobots” would be partially living organisms, we would of course need to
power them in much the same way that we fuel our own bodies. Support systems
that provide energy, oxygen and other necessary chemical building blocks would
be required, essentially to keep these tissues alive. Instead of oil and
electricity, our biobots would need efficient methods for eating and breathing
in order to be able to sustain their function. While lacking sentience, we
would have to begin to treat our gadgets, products and industrial systems like
pets; living organisms that need to be tended to and cared for.
Imagine your
car being powered by some sort of artificial heart. Picture your home being
heated and cooled by a set of modified, oversized lungs. Think about walking
into an elevator that was being pulled 50 stories up by a massively elongated
muscle fibre that expanded and contracted with perfect control to stop at each
floor. Taste water on the tip of your tongue that has been perfectly filtered
by a set of adapted, custom designed kidneys. Could you ever write your next
email on a computer with the processing power of an artificially designed
brain? Is the future of gears, circuits, magnets, and metal that we’ve been
envisioning for years…wrong?
There are, of
course, ethical considerations to raise with this alternate future, however,
that topic is consideration for another day. Even if these biological entities
are artificially constructed, they will force us to question how we perceive
and interact with life itself. Inevitably, we will eventually have to ask the question
“is this playing God?”
In short, yeah…
a little bit. But we all knew it was bound to happen.
