Quantumrun

IMAGE CREDIT:

iStock

Living robots: Scientists finally made living things out of robots

Scientists have created biological robots that can self-repair, carry a payload, and potentially revolutionize medical research.

Author:
Author name
Quantumrun Foresight
December 8, 2022

Insight summary

Scientists are experimenting with creating robots from biological tissues instead of metal and plastic. The potential of these living robots is immense—from drug development to therapeutics to nanorobotics. Not only are these hybrid organisms "alive," but they're also programmable.

Living robots context

In 2020, researchers from the University of Vermont and Tufts University in the US created living robots using cells from African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). These living robots, referred to as Xenobots, exhibited remarkable abilities. They could self-heal when damaged, similar to the healing process in natural organisms. Additionally, they disintegrated once their task was accomplished, mirroring the life cycle of organic beings.

These Xenobots measured no more than 1 millimeter. Their design process involved a sophisticated algorithm operating on a supercomputer, which virtually "evolves" them. This algorithm began with a diverse range of three-dimensional configurations, using 500 to 1,000 frog skin and heart cells. Each configuration represented a potential design for the Xenobots. The supercomputer then tested each design virtually, assessing how effectively they performed essential functions, such as moving in response to the rhythmic contractions of the heart cells.

The most successful designs led to the development of next-generation prototypes. These prototypes underwent rigorous testing to evaluate their efficiency in a series of tasks. The heart cells acted as miniature engines, contracting and relaxing to propel the robots. This biological mechanism enabled the Xenobots to move autonomously. These cells stored enough biological energy to sustain the robots from a week to ten days.

Disruptive impact

In 2021, the team enhanced their Xenobot prototype to be faster, navigate different environments more efficiently, and have a longer lifespan. These new Xenobots can still work together in groups and heal themselves if they become damaged. In the "top-down" approach of constructing Xenobots 1.0, millimeter-sized automatons were made by tissue placement and surgical shaping of frog skin and cardiac cells. The next version takes a more efficient "bottom-up" approach.

The team of biologists at Tufts University started with stem cells taken from embryos of the African frog. These cells were then left to develop and grow into spheroids, where some of the cells differentiated after a few days to produce cilia. (Cilia are tiny projections that look like hair and move back and forth or rotate in a particular way.)

The original Xenobots used naturally occurring cardiac cells to create scuttling movement, but the new spheroidal bots get their locomotion from cilia. In frogs and humans, cilia are usually found on mucous surfaces like in the lungs, which help remove pathogens and other foreign material. On Xenobots, however, they've been repurposed to provide rapid movement across a surface.

The new Xenobots are much faster and better at tasks such as garbage collection than the 2020 model. They can work together in a swarm to sweep through a petri dish and gather larger piles of iron oxide particles. They can also cover large flat surfaces or travel through narrow capillaries. These studies suggest that these biological bots are capable of more complex behaviors in the future. For example, one of the primary features of robotics is that they can remember and use past information to change how they behave. And as it happens, the latest Xenobot upgrade included another significant feature: the capacity to record data.

Additionally, due to their unique features, the scientists say that future versions of the robots might be employed in tasks such as cleaning up microplastic pollution in oceans, digesting toxic materials, delivering drugs within the body, or removing plaque from artery walls.

Implications of living robots

Wider implications of living robots may include:

Living robots being injected to cure neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, through their self-repairing properties.
Living robots testing how cells react to varying drugs and dosages, speeding up drug development and making it safer.
Living robots employed to destroy microplastics and other nanoparticles.
Scientists using different groups of living robots to conduct more in-depth cellular and organism research for regenerative medicine.
An increasing debate on whether living robots should be classified as machines or living creatures with rights.
Businesses in pharmaceuticals and healthcare shifting to incorporate living robot technology for targeted drug delivery, leading to more precise and effective treatments.
Environmental agencies utilizing living robots for bioremediation processes, effectively cleaning contaminated water bodies and soil.
The emergence of ethical guidelines and regulations by governments to oversee the usage of living robots, ensuring responsible development and application in various fields.