Soft tissue reservoir computing is a shocking concept a Japanese scientist has come up with and yes, I may dream of Matrix tonight

• Physical reservoir computing is a muscle-powered Matrix-like concept
• Human tissue’s nonlinear behavior could support real-world data processing
• New study imagines biology and machines merging into hybrid computers

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, that’s 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