Brain Processing Unit
Special Exhibition
About
The rapid advancement of AI is influencing every aspect of society, from creative domains such as generating text and images to addressing significant social challenges like early disease detection and climate change prediction. This technological innovation is profoundly transforming the way we work and live, while also challenging us to reconsider what defines the unique strengths of humans. Today, the distinctive abilities of the human brain—such as adaptability to unfamiliar environments and remarkable learning efficiency—are garnering renewed attention and focus.
The SoftBank Research Institute of Advanced Technology has been focusing on these brain functions and actively researching their application to computing technologies. One of our key breakthroughs involves "cerebral organoids," small artificial brain tissues created using iPS cells. These tissues, though only a few millimeters in diameter, can cultivate up to nearly 100 million neurons, similar to those in the human brain. We have developed a device that provides electrical stimuli to these cultivated neurons ("mini-brains"), simulating human sensory inputs such as vision and hearing. This device also captures the signals processed by the neural networks within these organoids. We have named this system the "Brain Processing Unit." By exchanging information with these "mini-brains" using this device, we believe it is possible to create a computational accelerator that harnesses the strengths of the brain's unique capabilities.
Since 2022, we have been collaborating with artist Daito Manabe and the Ikeuchi Laboratory at the University of Tokyo on this project. Together, we have been working on methods to stimulate cerebral organoids, analyze their activity data, and develop the necessary APIs, networks, and other interface technologies required for these operations. This exhibition showcases the current state of cerebral organoid research and the vision we are pursuing through cutting-edge technologies.
Works

Work 1Cellular Ears
Music transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, evoking emotional responses in people across the globe. But how is this universal power of music perceived and processed by our nervous system?
Our brain can instantly analyze the complex elements of music and recognize its features. This project investigates the fundamental mechanisms of music recognition using cerebral organoids, shedding light on the intrinsic relationship between the art form of music and the biological systems of life.

Work 2Experimental Study on Autonomous Robot Control Using Living Neural Networks
This project explores the potential for intelligent control through biological systems, rather than relying on artificial intelligence. The adaptive learning capabilities of living organisms allow them to flexibly respond to dynamic and unpredictable environments, such as real-world settings. By incorporating actual brain neural circuits as the core of a robotic control system, this project aims to establish a novel control architecture.
The biological brain is an exceptional system that continuously processes external information in real time while acting, generating appropriate subsequent behaviors. This project investigates the unique mechanisms of learning and adaptation inherent in living systems, utilizing cerebral organoids—small-scale neural cell networks.

Work 3Life and Rhythm
Why do humans involuntarily respond to music with movement? This project explores the origins of this universal human response at the most fundamental level of life—neurons.
Our bodies constantly maintain rhythm without conscious effort. The heartbeat, synchronized brain waves, and breathing rhythms—all of these life activities exhibit inherent rhythmicity. Using cerebral organoids, this project investigates the relationship between this intrinsic rhythm of life and the response to external rhythmic musical stimuli.
Credits
Brain Processing Unit - The Future Where Biology and Computer Integrate -
SoftBank Daito Manabe The University of Tokyo Special Exhibition
February 1 (Sat) – 9 (Sun), 2025 at fil
Organizer: SoftBank Research Institute of Advanced Technology
Collaborators: Daito Manabe, Studio Daito Manabe, Ikeuchi lab (Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo), INERTIA
Production credit
Direction, Composition, Sound Design & Programming, Visualization: Daito Manabe (Rhizomatiks, Studio Daito Manabe)
Software Engineering: 2bit, Ayumu Nagamatsu
Production Support: Keke (Studio Daito Manabe), Yuta Okuyama
Project Management: Takao Inoue (Rhizomatiks)
Advisor: Masaki Teruoka
Exhibition Space Design: Takahito Hosono (OFF-FLAT)
Construction: ARTE, Tatsuya Motoki (OFF-FLAT)
Production Collaboration: SoftBank Research Institute of Advanced Technology, Ikeuchi lab (Institute of Industrial Science of the University of Tokyo)
Equipment Collaboration: Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd.
Documentary photography & Video production
Director: Tomoyuki Ichikawa (Nippachi Factory)
Assistant Director: Aya Shinohara (Nippachi Factory)
Motion Graphics & Editor: strings VY