Biohybrid neuromuscular robots

Bioelectronics integrate electronic devices with living tissues, for example by incorporating muscle cells with electronic components to power motion in biohybrid robots. These robots have promising biomedical applications, ranging from adaptable pacemakers to bionic prosthetics and medical microrobots. However, these devices typically lack a central nervous system, limiting their ability to adapt and react to their environment. Writing in Science Robotics, Su Ryon Shin and colleagues have developed a soft robot controlled by living nerve cells and powered by living cardiac muscle cells.

The butterfly-like design of the robot includes a central frequency multiplexing wireless system acting as an artificial brain and two fins with integrated inducible pluripotent stem-cell-derived motor neurons and cardiomyocytes. The artificial brain selectively activates motor neurons that then signal to the cardiomyocytes, resulting in muscle contractions that power fin flapping and robot movement. The team then used waveforms to modulate the frequency and pulse duration of these electrical signals, which, in turn, controlled the speed of the robot, whereas independent activation of the left or right fin enabled steering.