This biohybrid robot pivots underwater
Marie Donlon | February 01, 2024A biohybrid robot — merging artificial materials and biological tissue — has been developed by researchers from the University of Tokyo
The 3 cm tall mini-robot is composed of a combination of 3D-printed parts, rubber and lab-cultivated rat muscle tissue cells and is capable of turning on a 90° pivot while suspended in water, according to its developers.
To enable the mini robot to pivot, one of its legs receives tiny electrical pulses that contract the rat muscle actuators as the other leg functions as a fixed point of support. As such, the biohybrid robot prototype can reportedly pivot at an angle, which is not currently achievable in similar robotic designs.
The researchers explain that their robot travels at an incremental 5.4 mm per minute, encouraged by electrical stimulations delivered through the water at five second intervals.
For now, the researchers note that the biohybrid cannot remain upright underwater without a buoy support system and still requires constant supervision as well as a watery conduit to stimulate the muscle actuators. Making it appropriate for use on land, the researchers explain, necessitates thicker muscle designs, additional joints and a nutrient delivery system for keeping the tissue cultures alive.
Yet the team envisions that one day, the robot could possibly be used for deep-sea exploration or in search-and-rescue missions.
An article detailing the biohybrid robot, “Biohybrid bipedal robot powered by skeletal muscle tissue,” appears in the journal Matter.
For more on the biohybrid pivoting robot, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Matter/Kinjo et al.