Soft cell-based robotic devices could assist in the designing of systems and machines that are able to sense and respond to complex environmental signals.

Engineers based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently held a demonstration to showcase a class of 3D printed walking “bio-bots” that are powered by muscle cells and controlled via electrical pulses.

The team has been a pioneer in the design and building of bio-bots, having developed a walking bio-bot that is powered by heart cells in 2012. Nonetheless, because of the constant contraction of heart cells, it is difficult for researchers to engineer and control a bio-bot that can be turned on and off, as well as sped up or slowed down.

The new bio-bots are powered using a strip of skeletal muscle cells which can be triggered via an electric pulse. These bots have been designed to mimic the muscle-tendon-bone complex that is contained in the body.

Skeletal muscle cells have so far proven very attractive due to the fact that it is possible to pace them via external signals. For instance, skeletal muscle may be used for the design of a device that you wanted to begin functioning once it senses a chemical or upon receiving a particular signal.

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Bill Besim