Scientists build robot octopus, one tentacle at a time

Cephalopods don’t have their neurons organized in the same way that we vertebrates do. An octopus has as many neurons as a cat, but instead of relying on a central brain, the octopus’ neurons are far more scattered. Some are centralized into what we might think of as a “brain”—in this case, a donut-shaped organ that actually wraps around the octopus’ esophagus. But the bulk of the neurons are distributed throughout the octopus’ body. When the octopus moves, the centralized and decentralized neurons work together, sharing information and the duties of processing and control.

Researchers like Hochner think that distributed processing system could make for better robots that can do more thinking on their own. Now, his work is paying off. In the video above, you can see the robotic arm produced by an interdisciplinary, team funded by the European Commission, of which Hochner is a part. The 17-inch arm can grasp objects and is the first step in a larger plan to build an entire robot octopus.

via BOINGBOING