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The intriguing opportunities enabled by the use of living components in biological machines have spurred the development of a variety of muscle‐powered biohybrid robots in recent years. Among them, several generations of tissue‐engineered biohybrid walkers have been established as reliable platforms to study untethered locomotion. However, despite these advances, such technology is not mature yet, and major challenges remain. Herein, steps are taken to address two of them: the lack of systematic design approaches, common to biohybrid robotics in general, and in the case of biohybrid walkers specifically, the lack of maneuverability. A dual‐ring biobot is presented which is computationally designed and selected to exhibit robust forward motion and rotational steering. This dual‐ring biobot consists of two independent muscle actuators and a four‐legged scaffold asymmetric in the fore/aft direction. The integration of multiple muscles within its body architecture, combined with differential electrical stimulation, allows the robot to maneuver. The dual‐ring robot design is then fabricated and experimentally tested, confirming computational predictions and turning abilities. Overall, a design approach based on modeling, simulation, and fabrication exemplified in this versatile robot represents a route to efficiently engineer complex biological machines with adaptive functionalities.
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Multi-actuator light-controlled biological robots
Biohybrid robots, composed of cellular actuators and synthetic scaffolds, have garnered much attention in recent years owing to the advantages provided by their biological components. In recent years, various forms of biohybrid robots have been developed that are capable of life-like movements, such as walking, swimming, and gripping. Specifically, for walking or crawling biorobots, there is a need for complex functionality and versatile and robust fabrication processes. Here, we designed and fabricated multi-actuator biohybrid walkers with multi-directional walking capabilities in response to noninvasive optical stimulation through a scalable modular biofabrication process. Our new fabrication approach provides a constant mechanical strain throughout the cellular differentiation and maturation process. This maximizes the myotube formation and alignment, limits passive bending, and produces higher active forces. These demonstrations of the new fabrication process and bioactuator designs can pave the way for advanced multi-cellular biohybrid robots and enhance our understanding of the emergent behaviors of these multi-cellular engineered living systems.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1830881
- PAR ID:
- 10584141
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- APL Bioengineering
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2473-2877
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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