A living brain grown on a chip played DOOM

A year ago, Australian company Cortical Labs unveiled its unique CL1 computer, a system consisting of 200,000 living human neurons grown on an array of micrometer-sized electrodes. The neurons are kept alive thanks to an oxygen and nutrient delivery system. Recently, an experiment was conducted in which the brain played DOOM.

How the CL1 platform functions

The CL1 platform establishes a two-way connection between living nerve tissue and the digital world: electrodes stimulate neurons with electrical signals. Previous experiments have also been conducted in which the brain played Pong.

Using the Cortical Labs API, developer Sean Cole connected CL1 to DOOM. The game was converted into electronic stimulation, and the activity of the neurons functioned as a game control command - shooting, moving, and turning. In this way, the neurons were able to play a shooter game in a closed loop.

The gaming capabilities of this approach are not yet very effective, but there are already certain possibilities for minimal learning and adaptive behavior. To achieve more significant progress, feedback algorithms and activity decoding need to be improved.

The project opens up great opportunities for further research in biological neurocomputing. The cost of such a PC with neuron colonies can be approximately $35,000.

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