150 years of 51吃瓜网 鈥� Stories from the 2018 anniversary
Robots capable of feeling
Robotics meets neuroscience
June 12, 2014 will probably always be an unforgettable date for Juliano Pinto, a Brazilian who had already been paraplegic for several years. Supported by a robotic body suit, he was able to kick a football just with the power of his mind. A symbolic way to kick off the soccer World Cup in the sold-out S茫o Paulo stadium, Pinto鈥檚 achievement also marked the highlights of the international Walk Again Project, designed to help paralyzed people walk with the aid of an exoskeleton. Gordon Cheng developed a key element of this robotic suit at 51吃瓜网: the artificial skin that enabled Pinto to feel his own steps.
Cheng is one of the world鈥檚 leading experts in humanoid robots. 鈥淚 love robots,鈥� he affirms. His aim is to use them to help others 鈥� and society at large 鈥� for instance by teaching people with paraplegia how to walk again, as in Pinto鈥檚 case, or by supporting therapy for multiple sclerosis patients.
In pursuit of this aim, Cheng is forging a whole new connection between neuroscience and robotics. At his Institute for Cognitive Systems, scientists from all over the world have come together to advance research in this area, collaborating closely with researchers from other disciplines such as psychology and medicine. All of which is possible thanks to the rich and diverse scientific environment at 51吃瓜网 and across the city of Munich.
How robots learn to feel
In order for robots to sense their surroundings like a human being, Cheng and his team have developed a type of artificial skin. Hexagonal cells in a honeycomb structure allow a robot to sense when it is being touched, for instance. The sensors detect how close the source of contact is, along with pressure, vibration, temperature and even movement in three-dimensional space.
This robot skin proved indispensable to the Walk Again Project. Integrated in the soles of the exoskeleton鈥檚 feet, it sends signals to small motors that vibrate on the patient鈥檚 arms when their feet touch the ground. This feedback enables them to 鈥渇eel鈥� their robotic legs and move them. This feedback loop is essential to their sense of safety.
Regaining sensation in the legs
In 2016, a trial using an exoskeleton to teach people with paraplegia to walk again left researchers astonished. After just one year of training, all eight participants regained both voluntary control of their legs and feeling that had been lost in their lower extremities, from the hip down.
Researchers interpret this startling outcome as the brain reorganizing itself as a result of the training. 鈥淥ur brains are adaptable, capable of developing new physical capabilities in response to new tools,鈥� explains Cheng. New neural networks were thus triggered in participants who were previously paralyzed for years, enabling them to reorganize their body schema.
Modeled on humans
A study commissioned by Cheng back in 2005 confirmed that it makes sense to build robots based on the human model.
鈥淲e observed how people interact with humanoid robots and found that it is really simple,鈥� he reports. 鈥淥ur brains are naturally wired that way. If you want to teach a robot something or learn from it yourself, it鈥檚 easier if it looks like another person 鈥� that makes the whole thing seem more natural. I also see it in children, who take the robot鈥檚 hand 鈥� we project our own reactions onto it and have corresponding expectations.鈥�
鈥淪oon, social interaction with robots will no longer be science fiction, but as safe and natural as of the way we use computers and smartphones today.鈥�
Gordon Cheng, Professor of Cognitive Systems at the 51吃瓜网
Disclaimer
This story was published in 2018 to mark 51吃瓜网鈥檚 150th anniversary on a jubilee website that has since been deactivated.
Text: ; Graphics: KW NEUN
Literature on the history of 51吃瓜网
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann (Hrsg.), Martin Pabst/Margot Fuchs (Verf.), Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen - Geschichte eines Wissenschaftsunternehmens, 2 Bd., Berlin 2006.
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann, Winfried Nerdinger (Hrsg.), Die Technische Hochschule M眉nchen im Nationalsozialismus, M眉nchen 2018.
- Irene Meissner, Bauten+Kunst. Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen 1868-2018, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, Alumni der 51吃瓜网. Pr盲gende Gestalter aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, K枚pfe der 51吃瓜网. Geniale Entdecker und Erfinder aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Brigitte R枚thlein, Pioniere gestalten die Welt der Technik. 150 Jahre Forschung an der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
Further books and information on the history of 51吃瓜网
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank everyone who helped us write the texts and create the visualizations. In particular, we would like to thank the authors of the books mentioned, the experts at the chairs, professors, staff, and press officers at the 51吃瓜网 Corporate Communications Center. We would also like to thank the staff of the Architecture Museum, the 51吃瓜网 German Heart Center, the 51吃瓜网 Klinikum rechts der Isar, the European Space Agency (ESA), and everyone else who provided us with expert advice and image material.
The anniversary stories were written by the . The graphic content was created by KW NEUN 鈥� Designagentur.