The World’s First “Living” Robots Just Got an Upgrade, Meet Xenobot 2.0

In 2020, the world saw its first glimpse of a living robot that could move, self-heal, and work with other bots to meet a common goal. But all these features have gotten a massive upgrade including...memory—meet Xenobot 2.0.

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In 2020, the world saw its first glimpse of a living robot. Known as the Xenobot, this microscale organism could move, self-heal, and work with other bots to meet a common goal.

But all these features have gotten a massive upgrade including...memory. The original Xenobots were developed by a team of biologists and computer engineers at Tufts University and the University of Vermont.

These micromachines measured less than a millimeter wide and could work together to push payloads. The original Xenobots could self-repair, but biologists have really dialed things up with the next generation.

#xenobot #robotics #microtech #science #seeker #elements

Read More:

Scientists Create the Next Generation of Living Robots
https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/scientists-create-next-generation-living-robots
"Compared to Xenobots 1.0, in which the millimeter-sized automatons were constructed in a “top-down” approach by manual placement of tissue and surgical shaping of frog skin and cardiac cells to produce motion, the next version of Xenobots takes a “bottom-up” approach."

Living robots made from frog skin cells can sense their environment
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2273516-living-robots-made-from-frog-skin-cells-can-sense-their-environment/
"Because they are created from cells, the xenobots eventually break apart and are totally biodegradable, says team member Douglas Blackiston, also at Tufts University. He, therefore, hopes that they can be used for biomedical and environmental applications."

Biohybrid design: How to build a biological robot
https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/biohybrid-design-how-to-build-a-biological-robot/
"Flexibility, adaptivity and resilience: the future of engineering is biological, says mechanical engineer Ritu Raman."

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