Scientists have created new “living biological robots” (artificial living organisms that can be programmed to act like robots) that have memory and can heal themselves. These robots are a new version of the “xenobots” first shown last year. They are tiny biological robots that assemble themselves, perform various tasks and can repair themselves. They can now also move faster and record information.
The xenobots got their name because they were created from the stem cells of an African frog, the Xenopus laevis. They were designed on a supercomputer and then assembled into entirely new life forms.
Read also: Spot robot dogs are the new employees at Shell refineries
The robots are the creation of scientists from Tufts University and the University of Vermont. The tiny machines could perform a range of tasks and actions, including moving themselves and other things, as well as demonstrating collective behavior as part of a swarm of such robots.
The new version of the xenobots includes a wide range of upgrades. For example, the new robots can assemble into a body from a multitude of individual cells, they don't need muscle cells to move, and they have a memory that can be used to record things that happen to them. In addition, they are faster and more capable than the first version, while also having a longer lifespan. They can even function together as a whole and even heal themselves.
According to the researchers, the robots could be further upgraded by adding many more capabilities, and could also be used to improve the environment and healthcare.
See also: Twisted Fields builds the new agricultural robot Acorn
They could also shed light on exactly how cells – like those that make up a human – come together to form a whole that functions as a system. This could help us understand how single-celled organisms evolved into the complex organisms that surround and include us. The processes that help shape xenobots could tell us how we ourselves shaped and acquired capabilities, such as the ability to process information and make sense of things, the researchers say.
The work on the new xenobots is described in an article published March 31 in the journal Science Robotics.
The robots were built a little differently than the original versions, the researchers say. Scientists took stem cells from frog embryos and allowed them to begin assembling themselves.
Michael Levin, distinguished professor of biology, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, and author of the study, said: “From a cellular and genetic perspective, xenobots are frogs. DNA is 100% frog-derived, yet they are not frogs. So you wonder, what else can these cells? In a frog embryo, cells work together to make a tadpole. Here, we see that cells can repurpose their genetically encoded material, such as cilia, for new functions such as locomotion. It is amazing that cells can spontaneously take on new roles and create new body shapes and behaviors without long periods of evolutionary selection for these traits.”
The researchers also pointed out that the process is no different from the typical way of creating a robot – the only difference is that biological tissue is used.
Proposal: Scientists created early human embryo models from stem cells
Senior Scientist Doug Blackiston, who co-authored the study with research technician Emma Lederer, noted: “In some ways, xenobots are built like a traditional robot. Only we use cells and tissues rather than artificial components to build the shape and create predictable behavior. This approach helps us understand how cells communicate as they interact with each other during development and how we can better control these interactions.”
At the same time, scientists from the University of Vermont ran computer simulations of xenobots operating together and separately to find how their shapes changed their behavior.
Furthermore, Josh Bongard, who led the team of computer scientists and roboticists, said: “We know the task, but it’s not at all obvious – to humans – what a successful design should look like. That’s where the supercomputer comes in and searches over the space of all possible xenobot swarms to find the swarm that does the job best. We want the Xenobots to do useful work. Right now we’re giving them simple tasks, but ultimately we’re aiming for a new kind of living ‘tools’ that could, for example, clean up microplastics in the ocean or pollutants in the soil.”
