BIG IDEAS
Robot Hears through Locust Ear I
n a world first, an organic ear has been connected to a robot, which can receive electrical signals, “hear,” and respond accordingly. To achieve this breakthrough, a team of TAU researchers used a special device, called Ear-ona-Chip, developed at the lab of Dr. Ben Maoz of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and Sagol School of Neuroscience. The device kept the ear—taken from a locust—alive by supplying it with oxygen and nutrients, while allowing the electrical signals to be taken out of the ear and then amplified and transmitted to the robot. Based on the project’s success, the team plans to use this integrative model in other applications. Maoz
Idan Fishel and the robot
notes that biological systems are more sensitive and less expensive than their technological equivalents—and also consume less energy—thus making the hybrid system a winning option. “Nature is more advanced than we are,” says Dr. Maoz, a Blavatnik Faculty Recruit. “The principle we have demonstrated can be applied to other senses. For example, some animals
have amazing abilities to detect explosives or drugs. A robot with a biological nose could help us save human lives and identify criminals. The sky is the limit.” The study was led by Idan Fishel, an MSc graduate, under the supervision of Maoz and Profs. Yossi Yovel and Amir Ayali of the School of Zoology and Sagol School of Neuroscience.
and tested at an Israeli university. The size of a shoebox, it hitched a ride into space on a NASA rocket and is now conducting experiments while in orbit, including the measurement of cosmic radiation. The achievement was the fruit of an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Center for Nanosatellites and New Space of the Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and the Constantiner School of Education. The initiative included a strong educational element: In addition to
TAU students and faculty, a diverse group of high school pupils were involved in TAU-SAT1’s development, from writing software to testing. “The students come from all over the country, including the periphery, and hail from different cultural and religious backgrounds,” says Sharon Mishaal, a staff member of the Constantiner School of Education and the Nanosatellite Center. “Our goal is to make the field of space accessible to youngsters from across Israel.” TAU researchers are now working on a new satellite that will measure climate change. It will be launched through TAU’s newly-created interdisciplinary Center for Climate Change Action.
TAU Soars into Space T el Aviv University soared out of this world with the festive launch of TAU-SAT1—the first nanosatellite to be designed, developed, assembled
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