tomorrowtechtoday.com

As NASA prepares to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing may do more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

Not quite the Terminator yet, but the rat-brained robot developed by Reading University is starting to think for itself.

This pint sized robot isn’t controlled by software, but by 300,000 living neurons generously donated by a rat. These Neurons are being taught how to steer the robot avoiding obstacles and walls.

Bionics, for most of us, would bring up images of Luke Skywalker and his robotic hand from Star Wars. If you’re as old as me (in your 40s) you can probably remember Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man. Being able to bend solid steel bars and run as fast as a speeding car he was the epitome of cutting edge technology (be it sci-fi technology) of the 1970’s.

Today, Bionics, while not in the same league as Steve Austin, has progressed to an amazing level and has truly improved the lives of many people.