Uriel Martinez-Hernandez · Vasiliki Vouloutsi · Anna Mura · Michael Mangan · Minoru Asada · Tony J. Prescott · Paul F. M. J. Verschure (Eds.) 6 5 Biomimetic 5 1 1 I A and Biohybrid Systems N L 8th International Conference, Living Machines 2019 Nara, Japan, July 9–12, 2019 Proceedings 123 fi Lecture Notes in Arti cial Intelligence 11556 Subseries of Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series Editors Randy Goebel University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada Yuzuru Tanaka Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan Wolfgang Wahlster DFKI and Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany Founding Editor Jörg Siekmann DFKI and Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/1244 Uriel Martinez-Hernandez (cid:129) Vasiliki Vouloutsi Anna Mura (cid:129) (cid:129) Michael Mangan Minoru Asada (cid:129) (cid:129) Tony J. Prescott Paul F. M. J. Verschure (Eds.) (cid:129) Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems 8th International Conference, Living Machines 2019 – Nara, Japan, July 9 12, 2019 Proceedings 123 Editors Uriel Martinez-Hernandez Vasiliki Vouloutsi University of Bath SPECS,Institute for Bioengineering Bath, UK of Catalonia Barcelona,Spain Anna Mura SPECS,Institute for Bioengineering Michael Mangan of Catalonia University of Sheffield Barcelona,Spain Sheffield,UK Minoru Asada TonyJ. Prescott Osaka University University of Sheffield Suita,Japan Sheffield,UK PaulF. M.J.Verschure SPECS,ICREA,BIST Barcelona,Spain ISSN 0302-9743 ISSN 1611-3349 (electronic) Lecture Notesin Artificial Intelligence ISBN 978-3-030-24740-9 ISBN978-3-030-24741-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24741-6 LNCSSublibrary:SL7–ArtificialIntelligence ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthe material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynow knownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. 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ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Preface These proceedings contain the papers presented at Living Machines 2019: the 8th InternationalConferenceonBiomimeticandBiohybridSystems,heldintheKasugano InternationalForum,Nara,Japan,July9–12,2019.Theinternationalconferencesinthe Living Machines series are targeted at the intersection of research on novel life-like technologiesinspiredbythescientificinvestigationofbiologicalsystems,biomimetics, andresearchthatseekstointerfacebiologicalandartificialsystemstocreatebiohybrid systems.Theconferenceaimistohighlightthemostexcitinginternational research in both of these fields united by the theme of “Living Machines.” The Living Machines conference series was first organized by the Convergent Science Network (CSN) of biomimetic and biohybrid systems to provide a focal pointforthegatheringofworld-leadingresearchersandthepresentationanddiscussion of cutting-edge research in this rapidly emerging field. The modern definition of biomimetics is the development of novel technologies through the distillation of principles from the study of biological systems. The investigation of biomimetic systems canserve twocomplementary goals.First, asuitablydesignedandconfigured biomimetic artifact can be used to test theories about the natural system of interest. Second,biomimetictechnologiescanprovideuseful,elegant,andefficientsolutionsto unsolved challenges in science and engineering. Biohybrid systems are formed by combining atleast one biological component—an existing living system—andat least one artificial, newly engineered component. By passing information in one or both directions, such a system forms a new hybrid bio-artificial entity. The earth hascontinuously changed overbillionsofyears, causing living beings to evolve their capabilities to adapt optimally to the changing environment. The result from this evolving process has marveled humans since many centuries ago, inspiring them to build machines and transform their world by mimicking the power accomplishedbynatureandanimals.Theapproachofcreatingtechnologybyimitating nature receives the term “biomimetics,” coined by the American biophysicist and inventorOtto Schmitt inthe1950s, putting togetherthe Greek words“bios”(life) and “mimesis” (imitate). Although sometimes it is imperceptible, biomimetics has been with human beings along history and across the world, making life easier and comfortable. China is one of the first civilizations that took inspiration from nature by employing silk for the fabrication of fabrics, and making it one of the oldest examples of biomimetics. Lu Ban, a Chinese inventor, also made use of silk to create the first umbrella that mimicked the shape, flexibility, and effectiveness of the lotus leaf. The Renaissance periodinItalygavebirthtoLeonardodaVinci,oneofthemostprolificfigures,whose workwaslargelyinspiredbynature.Inthe15thcentury,daVincidevelopednumerous designsofmachines,including ahumanoidrobotandflyingmachines,inspiredbyhis vi Preface observations of mechanisms and the anatomy of natural systems. It was in the 20th century when the first-ever flying machine was successfully developed in America by theWrightbrothers,whoobservedthewaybirdsusetheirwingstogainliftandcontrol the direction of flight. Ground transportation has also been reached by biomimetics through the development of highly efficient vehicles. For example, at the beginning of the 21st century the world witnessed the appearance of the first bionic car in Germany, inspired by the skeleton structure and shape of the boxfish. This bionic car provedtobeaerodynamic,highlystable,andfuelefficientcomparedwithanyexisting car. Traditionally, Japanese culture has exhibited a special bond with nature, which has been reflected in the technological developments in that country. In the 1990s, Japan unveiled the first bullet train implementing biomimicry inspired by the kingfisher’s beak.Thelargehead,longandsharpbeakofthisbirdinspiredthedesignfortheshape ofthefrontofthebullettrain,resultinginatrainslicingthewindratherthantrappingit whenenteringatunnel.Thisimitationofnatureallowedthebullettraintominimizethe air resistance and booming sound, whileincreasing acceleration and energy efficiently notseenbefore.Theefficientevolutionofthehumanbodyhasinspiredthecreationof robotsthatlooklikepeopleknownashumanoids.In2006inJapan,MinoruAsadaand his group developed the CB2 robot, a biomimetic humanoid that mimics the physical, mental,andsocial capabilities ofa 2-year-old child.The CB2 robot isable toperform thesecapabilitiesbytheuseofbiomimetictouch,vision,andauditorysensorsinspired by the human body. In the past decade, exhaustive research by Hiroshi Ishiguro culminated in the first Geminoid robot, whose name is derived from the Latin word “geminus” (twin). Geminoids aim to be indistinguishable from real humans at first sight, by mimicking the human body anatomy, hair, skin, facial expressions, and interaction with others. Biomimeticshasbroughttogetherresearchersfromawidevarietyoffields,tobuild machines and tools for the advancement of society, economy, and living style. However, biomimetics still has plenty of opportunities for research and applications. For that reason, the Living Machines conference provides the environment for the presentation, evaluation, and discussion of cutting-edge and next-generation tech- nologies under investigation by researchers across the globe. The main conference, during July 10–12, took the form of a three-day single-track oral and poster presentation program that included five plenary lectures from leading internationalresearchersinbiomimeticandbiohybridsystems:HiroshiIshiguro(Osaka University) on studies on interactive robots; Michael Milford (Queensland University of Technology) on navigation, neuroscience, and neural networks – a quest to understand intelligence and build better technology for robots and autonomous vehicles; Andre van Schaik (Western Sydney University) on feature extraction using adaptive selection thresholds; Yukie Nagai (University of Tokyo) on cognitive developmentinrobots–aunifiedtheorybasedonpredictivecoding;andKohHosoda (Osaka University) on soft body as source of intelligence. There were also 26 regular talks and one poster session and poster spotlight (featuring approximately 16 posters). Preface vii Session themes included: advances in soft robotics; 3D-printed bio-machines; bio-hybrid actuators and muscles; bio-inspired locomotion; robots and society; biomimeticvisionandcontrol;deeplearningforbio-robotics; collectiveandemergent behaviors in animals and robots; and bio-inspired flight. The conference was complemented by two workshops on July 9, 2019, held at the Kasugano International Forum, Nara, Japan. More specifically, the “Closing Vico’s Loop:AddressingChallengesinScienceandSocietywithLivingMachines”workshop was organized by Paul Verschure and Tony Prescott, and the “Bioprinting” workshop was organized by Cellink. Consistent with the Living Machines’ tradition of choosing historical venues at the crossroads between life and human sciences, the main conference was hosted at the KasuganoInternationalForuminthetownofNara,theoldcapitalofJapanupuntilthe 8th century. Nara is located less than one hour from Kyoto and Osaka. Thanks to its past as the first permanent capital, Nara is full of historic treasures, including some of Japan’soldestandlargesttemples.DeerroamfreeinNaraPark,bytheTōdai-jitemple whereDaibutsu,the15-m-highbronzeBuddha,isdisplayedinalargewoodenhall.On the park's east side is the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha, which dates to 768 A.D. and morethan3,000lanterns.ThisyearLivingMachineswasheldinNaraaftersuccessful previouseditionsinParis,France,in2018;Stanford,USA,in2017;Edinburgh,UK,in 2016; Barcelona, Spain, in 2015; Milan, Italy, in 2014; London, UK, in 2013, and Barcelona, Spain, in 2012. Wewouldliketothankourhostsfortheconference,workshops,andpostersessions held at the Kasugano International Forum in Nara. We also wish to thank the many people that were involved in making the eighth editionofLivingMachinespossible:MinoruAsadaandPaulVerschureco-chairedthe meeting; Uriel Martinez-Hernandez, Vasiliki Vouloutsi, and Michael Mangan chaired theProgram Committee and editedthe conferenceproceedings; TonyPrescottchaired the international Steering Committee; Anna Mura was the general organization chair and also coordinated the Web and communication; Minoru Asada, Koh Hosoda, and their group provided administrative and local organizational support in Nara. We are grateful to the SPECS lab and the Communication Unit at the Institute for BioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC)inBarcelonafortheassistanceintheorganization and for technical support. We would also like to thank the authors and speakers who contributed their work, and the members of the Program Committee for their detailed and considered reviews. We aregrateful tothe fivekeynotespeakers who shared with us their vision of the future. Finally,wewishtothanktheorganizersandsponsorsofLM2019:theConvergence Science Network for Biomimetic and Neurotechnology (CSNII; ICT-601167), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia IBEC, and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), and Cellink company. Additional support was provided by Springer. Living Machines 2019 was also supported by: the IOP Physics journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, which will viii Preface publish a special issue of articles based on the best conference papers: Biomimetics – Open Access Journal will publish a special issue of articles based on the best con- ference posters, and an award will be given for best paper with a social impact. July 2019 Uriel Martinez-Hernandez Vasiliki Vouloutsi Anna Mura Minoru Asada Michael Mangan Tony J. Prescott Paul F. M. J. Verschure Organization Conference Chairs Minoru Asada Osaka University, Japan Paul F. M. J. Verschure InstituteforBioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC),Spain Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Spain Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain Program Chairs Uriel Martinez-Hernandez University of Bath, UK Vasiliki Vouloutsi InstituteforBioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC),Spain Michael Mangan University of Sheffield, UK Local Organizers Masahiro Shimizu Osaka University, Japan Koh Hosoda Osaka University, Japan Communications Anna Mura InstituteforBioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC),Spain Workshop Organizers Anna Mura InstituteforBioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC),Spain Tony Prescott University of Sheffield, UK International Steering Committee Minoru Asada Osaka University, Japan Joseph Ayers Northeastern University, USA Mark Cutkosky Stanford University, USA Marc Desmulliez Heriot-Watt University, UK José Halloy Université Paris Diderot, France Nathan Lepora University of Bristol, UK Uriel Martinez-Hernandez University of Bath, UK Barbara Mazzolai Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy Anna Mura InstituteforBioengineeringofCatalonia(IBEC),Spain Tony Prescott University of Sheffield, UK Roger Quinn Case Western Reserve University, USA