An open-source real-time system for remote robotic control using Neuroblastoma cultures

Abstract

This paper introduces an open-source real-time system that controls remotelly a robot using Human Neuroblastoma cultures and basic Braitenberg principles. Multielectrode Arrays Setups have been designed for direct culturing neural cells over silicon or glass substrates, providing the capability to stimulate and record simultaneously populations of neural cells. The main objective of this research is to modulate the natural physiologic responses of human neural cells by tetanic stimulation of the culture. If the system is able to modify the selective responses of some cells with a external pattern stimuli provided by a robot over different time scales, the neuroblastoma-cultured structure could be trained to process pre-programmed spatio-temporal patterns, controlling in this way the robotic behaviour.