Robot with a Biological Brain

[questio verum]

While researching OCZ'z NIA (a brainwave-driven computer input peripheral) I ran across this: Robot with a Biological Brain. I somehow find it strangely reassuring.

qv

[rokytnji]

I'm amazed at the self learning feature from repetitive motions. It stores mistakes and learns from them, just like we do. Wow!

[techieMoe]

I'm just waxing nerd-philosophical here, but if it's a robot with biological components, wouldn't it qualify as a cyborg?

[ryokimball]

actually, I think a cyborg would be a biological thing with robot components...

[questio verum]

I'm just waxing nerd-philosophical here, but if it's a robot with biological components, wouldn't it qualify as a cyborg?

Yes, it is by definition, a cyborg. Not the first, but a cyborg nonetheless.

What I find exciting is that it's brain tissue this time, it's controlling a robot, and it's demonstrating the abilty to learn, even if only at the most basic level.

[ryokimball]

$me just kidding about the cyborg thing... ^,^

But anyways, I thought I had linked this in a different conversation, but here it is anyways: rat neurons fly a plane (in YouTube form also, since I couldn't find a good article).
Oh! I remember now, I was going to reference in your singularity thread about how I think biology is still far superior (although there are many obvious, controversial challenges to this).
Oh, and I found this, too: BOY WITH RAT'S BRAIN!!

[Bemk]

I already knew the idea of using actual brain cells, to let a computer learn. I think it is a nice sort of research, accept for the part that the rat is missing some braincells all of a sudden. It will give some valuable information though. The information will be learned(like the rat brains do in the robot).