Humans as hardware - no, not the name of a new Matrix movie prequel but a shocking idea about human tissue

Date:
Tue, 01 Apr 2025 17:34:00 +0000

Description:
Welcome to the Matrix: Japanese researcher wants to use human soft tissue to process data like a computer.

FULL STORY

In a study that blends biology and computing, a researcher from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University has come up with a concept exploring how human muscles could be used as part of a computational system, processing data and solving problems.

If the idea sounds like something out of The Matrix , thats not far off. The study hints at a future where the human body becomes a part of the computing environment, blurring the line between man and machine.

In a paper published on IEEE Xplore , Yo Kobayashi shares his research based
on reservoir computing, a computational framework that uses a fixed,
non-linear system (the "reservoir") to process time-based data, with only the output layer requiring training. It relies on the natural properties of physical systems to perform complex tasks and Kobayashi's research suggests human soft tissue could be used to process information.

A different kind of machine

Instead of building a digital model, Yo Kobayashi looked at how real muscles respond under strain, using ultrasound to track wrist movements in
volunteers.

These recordings showed how muscle tissue deforms and returns to its original shape, offering a pattern that could be read as data.

"An ideal reservoir possesses both complexity and memory," explains Kobayashi in an article on Tech Xplore . "Since the mechanical responses of soft tissue inherently demonstrate stressstrain nonlinearity and viscoelasticity,
muscular tissue easily satisfies these criteria."

The system was tested on tasks typically used to benchmark machine learning models. It was able to predict outcomes in nonlinear dynamic systems, showing stronger performance than models that dont consider internal tissue behavior.

"One potential application area of this technology is wearable devices," says Kobayashi. "In the future, it may be possible to use our own tissue as a convenient computational resource. Since soft tissue is present throughout
the body, a wearable device could delegate calculations to the tissue, enhancing performance."

The research is still in its early stages. There are comparatively few
studies that use living organisms as reservoirs, and until now, none that use in vivo human tissue, Kobayashi says.

It's a fascinating concept, and one that opens the door to a future where computing runs not just on silicon, but on people power.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/humans-as-hardware-no-not-the-name-of-a-new-matr ix-movie-prequel-but-a-shocking-idea-about-human-tissue

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