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'''Neurorobotics''' is the combined study of [[neuroscience]], [[robotics]], and [[artificial intelligence]]. It is the science and technology of embodied autonomous neural systems. Neural systems include brain-inspired algorithms (e.g. connectionist networks), computational models of biological neural networks (e.g. artificial [[spiking neural network]]s, large-scale simulations of neural microcircuits) and actual biological systems (e.g. ''in vivo'' and ''in vitro'' neural nets). Such neural systems can be embodied in machines with mechanic or any other forms of physical actuation. This includes [[robot]]s, [[prosthesis|prosthetic]] or wearable systems but also, at smaller scale, micro-machines and, at the larger scales, furniture and infrastructures.

Neurorobotics is that branch of neuroscience with robotics, which deals with the study and application of science and technology of embodied autonomous neural systems like brain-inspired algorithms. It is based on the idea that the brain is embodied and the body is embedded in the environment. Therefore, most neurorobots are required to function in the real world, as opposed to a simulated environment.<ref name="Chiel_1997">{{cite journal | vauthors = Chiel HJ, Beer RD | title = The brain has a body: adaptive behavior emerges from interactions of nervous system, body and environment | journal = Trends in Neurosciences | volume = 20 | issue = 12 | pages = 553–7 | date = December 1997 | pmid = 9416664 | doi = 10.1016/s0166-2236(97)01149-1 | s2cid = 5634365 }}</ref>

Beyond brain-inspired algorithms for robots neurorobotics may also involve the design of brain-controlled robot systems.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Vannucci L, Ambrosano A, Cauli N, Albanese U, Falotico E, Ulbrich S, Pfotzer L, Hinkel G, Denninger O, Peppicelli D, Guyot L, Von Arnim A, Deser S, Maier P, Dillman R, Klinker G, Levi P, Knoll A, Gewaltig MO, [[Cecilia Laschi|Laschi C]] | title = 2015 IEEE-RAS 15th International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids) | chapter = A visual tracking model implemented on the iCub robot as a use case for a novel neurorobotic toolkit integrating brain and physics simulation | display-authors = 6 |date=1 November 2015|pages=1179–1184|doi=10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2015.7363512|isbn=978-1-4799-6885-5|s2cid=206713899 | url = https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/1518506 }}</ref><ref>{{cite conference | vauthors = Röhrbein F, [[Cecilia Laschi|Laschi C]], Walter F, Bohte S, Falotico E, Tolu S, Ulbrich S | title = Brain-Supported Learning Algorithms for Robots | conference = Proceedings of the EuroAsianPacific Joint Conference on Cognitive Science/4th European Conference on Cognitive Science/11th International Conference on Cognitive Science | location = Torino, Italy | date = September 2015 | url = http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1419/section0009.pdf|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Arrowsmith E |title=A Basic Neurorobotics Platform Using the Neurosky Mindwave|url=https://ernarrowsmith.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/a-basic-neurorobotics-platform-using-the-neurosky-mindwave/| work = Ern Arrowsmith | via = wordpress.com |access-date=9 April 2017|date=2 October 2012}}</ref>

== Major classes of models ==
Neurorobots can be divided into various major classes based on the robot's purpose. Each class is designed to implement a specific mechanism of interest for study. Common types of neurorobots are those used to study motor control, memory, [[action selection]], and perception.

=== Locomotion and motor control ===
Neurorobots are often used to study motor [[feedback]] and control systems, and have proved their merit in developing controllers for robots. [[Animal locomotion|Locomotion]] is modeled by a number of neurologically inspired theories on the action of motor systems. Locomotion control has been mimicked using models or [[central pattern generator]]s, clumps of neurons capable of driving repetitive behavior, to make four-legged walking robots.<ref name="Ijspeert_2007">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ijspeert AJ, Crespi A, Ryczko D, Cabelguen JM | title = From swimming to walking with a salamander robot driven by a spinal cord model | journal = Science | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 315 | issue = 5817 | pages = 1416–20 | date = March 2007 | pmid = 17347441 | doi = 10.1126/science.1138353 | bibcode = 2007Sci...315.1416I | s2cid = 3193002 | url = https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/101375/files/science2007_preprint.pdf }}</ref>  Other groups have expanded the idea of combining rudimentary control systems into a hierarchical set of simple autonomous systems. These systems can formulate complex movements from a combination of these rudimentary subsets.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Giszter SF, Moxon KA, Rybak IA, Chapin JK | title = Neurobiological and neurorobotic approaches to control architectures for a humanoid motor system. | journal = Robotics and Autonomous Systems | date = November 2001 | volume = 37 | issue = 2–3 | pages = 219–235 | doi = 10.1016/S0921-8890(01)00159-2 }}</ref> This theory of motor action is based on the organization of [[cortical column]]s, which progressively integrate from simple sensory input into a complex [[afferent nerve fiber|afferent]] signals, or from complex motor programs to simple controls for each [[skeletal muscle#Skeletal muscle cells|muscle fiber]] in [[efferent nerve fiber|efferent]] signals, forming a similar hierarchical structure.

Another method for motor control uses learned error correction and predictive controls to form a sort of simulated [[muscle memory]]. In this model, awkward, random, and error-prone movements are corrected for using error feedback to produce smooth and accurate movements over time. The controller learns to create the correct control signal by predicting the error.  Using these ideas, robots have been designed which can learn to produce adaptive arm movements<ref name="Eskiizmirliler_2002">{{cite journal | vauthors = Eskiizmirliler S, Forestier N, Tondu B, Darlot C | title = A model of the cerebellar pathways applied to the control of a single-joint robot arm actuated by McKibben artificial muscles | journal = Biological Cybernetics | volume = 86 | issue = 5 | pages = 379–394 | date = May 2002 | pmid = 11984652 | doi = 10.1007/s00422-001-0302-1 | s2cid = 8051621 }}</ref> or to avoid obstacles in a course.

=== Learning and memory systems ===
Robots designed to test theories of animal [[memory]] systems. Many studies examine the memory system of rats, particularly the rat [[hippocampus]], dealing with [[place cells]], which fire for a specific location that has been learned.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = O'Keefe J, Nadel L | date = 1978 | title = The hippocampus as a cognitive map | location = Oxford | publisher = Clarendon Press | isbn = 978-0-19-857206-0 }}</ref><ref name="Matarić_1998">{{cite journal | vauthors = Matarić MJ | title = Behavior-based robotics as a tool for synthesis of artificial behavior and analysis of natural behavior | journal = Trends in Cognitive Sciences | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 82–6 | date = March 1998 | pmid = 21227083 | doi = 10.1016/s1364-6613(98)01141-3 | s2cid = 17860567 }}</ref> Systems modeled after the rat hippocampus are generally able to learn [[cognitive map|mental maps]] of the environment, including recognizing landmarks and associating behaviors with them, allowing them to predict the upcoming obstacles and landmarks.<ref name="Matarić_1998" />

Another study has produced a robot based on the proposed learning paradigm of barn owls for orientation and localization based on primarily auditory, but also visual stimuli. The hypothesized method involves synaptic plasticity and [[Neuromodulation (biology)|neuromodulation]],<ref name="Rucci_2007">{{cite journal | vauthors = Rucci M, Bullock D, Santini F | title = Integrating robotics and neuroscience: brains for robots, bodies for brains. | journal = Advanced Robotics | date = January 2007 | volume = 21 | issue = 10 | pages = 1115–1129 | doi = 10.1163/156855307781389428 | s2cid = 18575829 }}</ref> a mostly chemical effect in which reward [[neurotransmitters]] such as dopamine or serotonin affect the firing sensitivity of a neuron to be sharper.<ref name="Cox_2009">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cox BR, Krichmar JL | title = Neuromodulation as a robot controller. | journal = IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine | date = September 2009 | volume = 16 | issue = 3 | pages = 72–80 | doi = 10.1109/mra.2009.933628 | s2cid = 16807722 }}</ref> The robot used in the study adequately matched the behavior of barn owls.<ref name=robotowl>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rucci M, Edelman GM, Wray J | title = Adaptation of orienting behavior: From the barn owl to a robotic system. | journal = IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation | date = February 1999 | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 96–110 | doi = 10.1109/70.744606 |s2cid= 8061163 }}</ref> Furthermore, the close interaction between motor output and auditory feedback proved to be vital in the learning process, supporting active sensing theories that are involved in many of the learning models.<ref name="Rucci_2007" />

Neurorobots in these studies are presented with simple mazes or patterns to learn. Some of the problems presented to the neurorobot include recognition of symbols, colors, or other patterns and execute simple actions based on the pattern. In the case of the barn owl simulation, the robot had to determine its location and direction to navigate in its environment.

=== Action selection and value systems ===
Action selection studies deal with negative or positive weighting to an action and its outcome. Neurorobots can and have been used to study simple ethical interactions, such as the classical thought experiment where there are more people than a life raft can hold, and someone must leave the boat to save the rest. However, more neurorobots used in the study of action selection contend with much simpler persuasions such as self-preservation or perpetuation of the population of robots in the study. These neurorobots are modeled after the neuromodulation of synapses to encourage circuits with positive results.<ref name="Cox_2009" /><ref name="Hasselmo_2002">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hasselmo ME, Hay J, Ilyn M, Gorchetchnikov A | title = Neuromodulation, theta rhythm and rat spatial navigation | journal = Neural Networks | volume = 15 | issue = 4–6 | pages = 689–707 | date = 2002 | pmid = 12371520 | doi = 10.1016/s0893-6080(02)00057-6 }}</ref> 

In biological systems, neurotransmitters such as dopamine or acetylcholine positively reinforce neural signals that are beneficial. One study of such interaction involved the robot Darwin VII, which used visual, auditory, and a simulated taste input to "eat" conductive metal blocks. The arbitrarily chosen good blocks had a striped pattern on them while the bad blocks had a circular shape on them. The taste sense was simulated by conductivity of the blocks.  The robot had positive and negative feedbacks to the taste based on its level of conductivity. The researchers observed the robot to see how it learned its action selection behaviors based on the inputs it had.<ref name="Krichmar_2002">{{cite journal | vauthors = Krichmar JL, Edelman GM | title = Machine psychology: autonomous behavior, perceptual categorization and conditioning in a brain-based device | journal = Cerebral Cortex | location = New York, N.Y. | volume = 12 | issue = 8 | pages = 818–30 | date = August 2002 | pmid = 12122030 | doi = 10.1093/cercor/12.8.818 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Other studies have used herds of small robots which feed on batteries strewn about the room, and communicate its findings to other robots.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Doya K, Uchibe E | title = The cyber rodent project: Exploration of adaptive mechanisms for self-preservation and self-reproduction. | journal = Adaptive Behavior | date = June 2005 | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 149–160 | doi = 10.1177/105971230501300206 | s2cid = 35959217 }}</ref>

=== Sensory perception ===
Neurorobots have also been used to study sensory perception, particularly vision. These are primarily systems that result from embedding neural models of sensory pathways in automatas. This approach gives exposure to the sensory signals that occur during behavior and also enables a more realistic assessment of the degree of robustness of the neural model. It is well known that changes in the sensory
signals produced by motor activity provide useful [[active perception|perceptual cues]] that are used extensively by organisms. For example, researchers have used the depth information that emerges during replication of human head and eye movements to establish robust representations of the visual scene.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Santini F, Rucci M | title = Active estimation of distance in a robotic system that replicates human eye movement. | journal = Robotics and Autonomous Systems | date = February 2007 | volume = 55 | issue = 2 | pages = 107–121 | doi = 10.1016/j.robot.2006.07.001 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kuang X, Gibson M, Shi BE, Rucci M | title = Active vision during coordinated head/eye movements in a humanoid robot. | journal = IEEE Transactions on Robotics | date = July 2012 | volume = 28 | issue = 6 | pages = 1423–1430 | doi = 10.1109/TRO.2012.2204513 | s2cid = 17969004 }}</ref>

== Biological robots ==
{{See also|Hybrot}}
[[Biological robot]]s are not officially neurorobots in that they are not neurologically inspired AI systems, but actual neuron tissue wired to a robot. This employs the use of [[cultured neural networks]] to study brain development or neural interactions. These typically consist of a neural culture raised on a [[multielectrode array]] (MEA), which is capable of both recording the neural activity and stimulating the tissue. In some cases, the MEA is connected to a computer which presents a simulated environment to the brain tissue and translates brain activity into actions in the simulation, as well as providing sensory feedback<ref name="Demarse_2001">{{cite journal | vauthors = Demarse TB, Wagenaar DA, Blau AW, Potter SM | title = The Neurally Controlled Animat: Biological Brains Acting with Simulated Bodies | journal = Autonomous Robots | volume = 11 | issue = 3 | pages = 305–310 | date = 2001 | pmid = 18584059 | pmc = 2440704 | doi = 10.1023/a:1012407611130 }}</ref> The ability to record neural activity gives researchers a window into a brain, which they can use to learn about a number of the same issues neurorobots are used for.

An area of concern with the biological robots is ethics. Many questions are raised about how to treat such experiments. The central question concerns [[consciousness]] and whether or not the rat brain experiences it. There are many theories about how to define consciousness.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Warwick K | title = Implications and consequences of robots with biological brains. | journal = Ethics and Information Technology | date = September 2010 | volume = 12 | issue = 3 | pages = 223–234 | doi = 10.1007/s10676-010-9218-6 | s2cid = 1263639 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | vauthors = Bentzen MM | chapter = Brains on Wheels: Theoretical and Ethical Issues in Bio-Robotics. | title = Sociable Robots and the Future of Social Relations | date = 2014 | pages = 245–251 | publisher = IOS Press |url=http://ebooks.iospress.nl/publication/38568 |doi=10.3233/978-1-61499-480-0-245 |s2cid= 67790806 }}</ref>

== Implications for neuroscience ==
Neuroscientists benefit from neurorobotics because it provides a blank slate to test various possible methods of brain function in a controlled and testable environment. While robots are more simplified versions of the systems they emulate, they are more specific, allowing more direct testing of the issue at hand.<ref name="Rucci_2007" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Niu CM, Jalaleddini K, Sohn WJ, Rocamora J, Sanger TD, Valero-Cuevas FJ | title = Neuromorphic meets neuromechanics, part I: the methodology and implementation | journal = Journal of Neural Engineering | volume = 14 | issue = 2 | pages = 025001 | date = April 2017 | pmid = 28084217 | pmc = 5540665 | doi = 10.1088/1741-2552/aa593c | bibcode = 2017JNEng..14b5001N }}</ref> They also have the benefit of being accessible at all times, while it is more difficult to monitor large portions of a brain while the human or animal is active, especially individual neurons.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jalaleddini K, Minos Niu C, Chakravarthi Raja S, Joon Sohn W, Loeb GE, Sanger TD, Valero-Cuevas FJ | title = Neuromorphic meets neuromechanics, part II: the role of fusimotor drive | journal = Journal of Neural Engineering | volume = 14 | issue = 2 | pages = 025002 | date = April 2017 | pmid = 28094764 | pmc = 5394229 | doi = 10.1088/1741-2552/aa59bd | bibcode = 2017JNEng..14b5002J }}</ref>

The development of neuroscience has produced neural treatments. These include pharmaceuticals and neural rehabilitation.<ref name="Bach-y-Rita_1999">{{cite journal | vauthors = Bach-y-Rita P | title = Theoretical aspects of sensory substitution and of neurotransmission-related reorganization in spinal cord injury | journal = Spinal Cord | volume = 37 | issue = 7 | pages = 465–74 | date = July 1999 | pmid = 10438112 | doi = 10.1038/sj.sc.3100873  | s2cid = 8419555 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Progress is dependent on an intricate understanding of the brain and how exactly it functions. It is difficult to study the brain, especially in humans, due to the danger associated with cranial surgeries. Neurorobots can improved the range of tests and experiments that can be performed in the study of neural processes.

== See also ==
* [[Brain–computer interface]]
* [[Experience machine]]
* [[Neuromorphic engineering]]
* [[Wirehead (science fiction)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Neurorobotics Neurorobotics on Scholarpedia (Jeff Krichmar (2008), Scholarpedia, 3(3):1365)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202922/http://www.smpp.northwestern.edu/robotLab/ A lab that focuses on neurorobotics at Northwestern University.]
*[http://www.frontiersin.org/neurorobotics/ Frontiers in Neurorobotics.]
*[http://www.fkaplan.com/en/catalogpage.xml?pg=1&id=241391&from=1&to=10 Neurorobotics: an experimental science of embodiment by Frederic Kaplan]
*[http://www.controlsystemslab.gr/main/robotics/ Neurorobotics Lab, Control Systems Lab, NTUn of Athens (Prof. Kostas J. Kyriakopoulos)]
*[http://neurorobotics.net/ Neurorobotics in the Human Brain Project]

{{Neuroscience}}
{{Robotics}}

[[Category:Artificial intelligence]]
[[Category:Interdisciplinary branches of neuroscience]]
[[Category:Robotics]]