Korean and American researchers have developed an animal cell-based bio-hybrid robot that can move without external power sources, paving the way for more options to make a robot free from a battery problem.

The research team consisting of Prof. Choi Jung-woo at Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Prof. Kevin Parker and researcher Park Sung-Jin at Harvard University announced they created a biohybrid machine powered by cardiac muscle cells of a rat. The research was headlined by the scientific journal Science on Friday.

The robot is a fusion between cell and machine. A robot consisting of animal cells is still a long way to go in robotic science because mimicking muscular movement is limited.

The research team created a stingray-shaped robot. It has a length of 16.3 mm and weighs 10 mg. It swims at a slow speed of 2.5 mm per second. Using animal cells is the hallmark of this tiny robot. Elastomer similar to rubber was used to form a body, and gold to structure a skeleton. And finally, a rat’s cardiac muscle cells were cultured and placed on the body’s skeleton.

The muscle tissue is similar to the muscles in the real ray. The muscle responds to light sources. Changing the frequency of the light slows or speeds up the contraction rate. To negotiate turns, the researchers guide a ray with two light sources, one pointed at each fin. By making one side beat faster than the other, the robot can be steered left or right, said Choi.

It is the first time that researchers have created a robot that moves without external power sources. Choi expects the research will help develop more advanced bio-bots that combine cells and machine parts in the future or sensors to detect disease. Nature-inspired robotics will lead to creation of artificial animals, and also human-like robots, if combined with artificial intelligence.

By Lee Young-wook

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