Inspired by recent advancements in brain organoid systems, researchers have designed a simple hydrogel-electrode array that not only can “play” Pong, but improve its gameplay over time.
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Led by biomedical engineering professor Yoshikatsu Hayashi, researchers hooked up a blob of nonliving, electroactive materials known as Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) hydrogels to a computer simulation of Pong using a custom multi-electrode array. When subjected to small bursts of electricity, the BZ hydrogels ionize. This, in turn, causes their water molecules to oscillate and swell, changing the sample’s overall shape in the process. But the hydrogels reduce swelling at a much slower rate than they do to initially enlarge, which means each movement influences the next.
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Given most AI algorithms currently rely on neural networks to function, Hayashi’s team now theorizes that hydrogels may offer a different form of “intelligence” that can be harnessed to create simpler algorithmic systems. Going forward, researchers hope to further investigate the physical properties behind the rudimentary memory formations, as well as test it in other applications.
