Recent Progress to Engineer the Functional Biohybrid Robots Actuated by Living Cells

Abstract

Living cells are the highly scalable biological actuators found in nature and are efficient technological solutions to power robotic system. Recently, advancements in biofabrication and tissue engineering have bridged the gap to interface muscle cells with artificial technology. In this review, we summarize the recent progress to engineer the attributes of individual components for the development of fully functional biohybrid robots. First, we discuss the fabrication of biological actuators for biohybrid robots with muscle cells and tissues, including cardiomyocytes, skeletal muscles, insect tissues and neuromuscular tissue in a well-organized pattern of 2D sheets and 3D constructs. Next, we discuss the performance of biohybrid robots for various biomimetic tasks, such as swimming, walking, gripping and pumping. Finally, the challenges in the development of biohybrid robots are proposed from different viewpoints of living materials engineering, multi-scale modeling, 3D printing for manufacture, and multi-functional robotic system development.