Biorobotics

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Locomotion and Bioinspired Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 30293

Special Issue Editor

Faculty of Technology and Bionics, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, D-47533 Kleve, Germany
Interests: biomimetics; biological sensors and sensing; soft robotics, biofilms and biofouling; surface engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biorobotics is a key contributor to the growing field of biomimetics. The use of soft materials, sensors, and sensing of an environment for decision making and further engagement particularly in natural unstructured environments is key to both robotics and biology. Biorobotics provides a unique and innovative platform for the development of successful agent–environment interactions. This topic has the potential to provide key transfer of knowledge in both directions, from technological advances to hypothesis testing of biological behaviors and function of structures.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the field of biorobotics and to bring together biologists, engineers, and roboticists. This theme is inherently interdisciplinary and thus focuses on bioinspired and biological whole robots but extends the topic to elements of their construction such as design, materials, sensing, and control. To successfully achieve this, we warmly encourage both original and review contributions from the fields of computational biology, cognitive science, comparative biomechanics, evolutionary biorobotics, and bio-inspired robotics.

Prof. Dr. Lily Chambers
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biorobotics
  • bio-inspired robots
  • comparative biomechanics
  • computational biology
  • evolutionary biorobotics

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 2095 KiB  
Article
Robot Programming from Fish Demonstrations
by Claudio Massimo Coppola, James Bradley Strong, Lissa O’Reilly, Sarah Dalesman and Otar Akanyeti
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020248 - 10 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1140
Abstract
Fish are capable of learning complex relations found in their surroundings, and harnessing their knowledge may help to improve the autonomy and adaptability of robots. Here, we propose a novel learning from demonstration framework to generate fish-inspired robot control programs with as little [...] Read more.
Fish are capable of learning complex relations found in their surroundings, and harnessing their knowledge may help to improve the autonomy and adaptability of robots. Here, we propose a novel learning from demonstration framework to generate fish-inspired robot control programs with as little human intervention as possible. The framework consists of six core modules: (1) task demonstration, (2) fish tracking, (3) analysis of fish trajectories, (4) acquisition of robot training data, (5) generating a perception–action controller, and (6) performance evaluation. We first describe these modules and highlight the key challenges pertaining to each one. We then present an artificial neural network for automatic fish tracking. The network detected fish successfully in 85% of the frames, and in these frames, its average pose estimation error was less than 0.04 body lengths. We finally demonstrate how the framework works through a case study focusing on a cue-based navigation task. Two low-level perception–action controllers were generated through the framework. Their performance was measured using two-dimensional particle simulations and compared against two benchmark controllers, which were programmed manually by a researcher. The fish-inspired controllers had excellent performance when the robot was started from the initial conditions used in fish demonstrations (>96% success rate), outperforming the benchmark controllers by at least 3%. One of them also had an excellent generalisation performance when the robot was started from random initial conditions covering a wider range of starting positions and heading angles (>98% success rate), again outperforming the benchmark controllers by 12%. The positive results highlight the utility of the framework as a research tool to form biological hypotheses on how fish navigate in complex environments and design better robot controllers on the basis of biological findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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16 pages, 4824 KiB  
Article
SmartLact8: A Bio-Inspired Robotic Breast Pump for Customized and Comfort Milk Expression
by Yuying Li, Marlenne Valadez Lozano, David Peña, Ish Kumar Gulati and Lin Jiang
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020190 - 04 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2150
Abstract
According to the 2018 National Immunization Survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 83.9% of the breastfeeding mothers in the United States have used a breast pump at least once. However, the majority of existing products use a vacuum-only [...] Read more.
According to the 2018 National Immunization Survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 83.9% of the breastfeeding mothers in the United States have used a breast pump at least once. However, the majority of existing products use a vacuum-only mechanism to extract milk. This causes common breast injuries such as nipple soreness, breast-tissue damage, and lactation complications after pumping. The objective of this work was to develop a bio-inspired breast pump prototype, named as SmartLac8, that can mimic infant suckling patterns. The input vacuum pressure pattern and compression forces are inspired from term infants’ natural oral suckling dynamics captured in prior clinical experiments. Open-loop input–output data are used to perform system identification for two different pumping stages that facilitates controller design for closed-loop stability and control. A physical breast pump prototype with soft pneumatic actuators and custom piezoelectric sensors was successfully developed, calibrated, and tested in dry lab experiments. Compression and vacuum pressure dynamics were successfully coordinated to mimic the infant’s feeding mechanism. Experimental data on sucking frequency and pressure on the breast phantom were consistent with clinical findings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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18 pages, 8485 KiB  
Article
Sensor Fusion-Based Teleoperation Control of Anthropomorphic Robotic Arm
by Xiaolong Yang, Furong Chen, Feilong Wang, Long Zheng, Shukun Wang, Wen Qi and Hang Su
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020169 - 20 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1893
Abstract
Sensor fusion is a technique that combines information from multiple sensors in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the data being collected. In the context of teleoperation control of an anthropomorphic robotic arm, sensor fusion technology can be used to enhance [...] Read more.
Sensor fusion is a technique that combines information from multiple sensors in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the data being collected. In the context of teleoperation control of an anthropomorphic robotic arm, sensor fusion technology can be used to enhance the precise control of anthropomorphic robotic arms by combining data from multiple sensors, such as cameras, data gloves, force sensors, etc. By fusing and processing this sensing information, it can enable real-time control of anthropomorphic robotic arms and dexterous hands, replicating the motion of human manipulators. In this paper, we present a sensor fusion-based teleoperation control system for the anthropomorphic robotic arm and dexterous hand, which utilizes a filter to fuse data from multiple sensors in real-time. As such, the real-time perceived human arms motion posture information is analyzed and processed, and wireless communication is used to intelligently and flexibly control the anthropomorphic robotic arm and dexterous hand. Finally, the user is able to manage the anthropomorphic operation function in a stable and reliable manner. We also discussed the implementation and experimental evaluation of the system, showing that it is able to achieve improved performance and stability compared to traditional teleoperation control methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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15 pages, 1949 KiB  
Article
Continuum Robots: From Conventional to Customized Performance Indicators
by Matteo Russo, Elie Gautreau, Xavier Bonnet and Med Amine Laribi
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020147 - 06 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2163
Abstract
Continuum robots have often been compared with rigid-link designs through conventional performance metrics (e.g., precision and Jacobian-based indicators). However, these metrics were developed to suit rigid-link robots and are tuned to capture specific facets of performance, in which continuum robots do not excel. [...] Read more.
Continuum robots have often been compared with rigid-link designs through conventional performance metrics (e.g., precision and Jacobian-based indicators). However, these metrics were developed to suit rigid-link robots and are tuned to capture specific facets of performance, in which continuum robots do not excel. Furthermore, conventional metrics either fail to capture the key advantages of continuum designs, such as their capability to operate in complex environments thanks to their slender shape and flexibility, or see them as detrimental (e.g., compliance). Previous work has rarely addressed this issue, and never in a systematic way. Therefore, this paper discusses the facets of a continuum robot performance that cannot be characterized by existing indicator and aims at defining a tailored framework of geometrical specifications and kinetostatic indicators. The proposed framework combines the geometric requirements dictated by the target environment and a methodology to obtain bioinspired reference metrics from a biological equivalent of the continuum robot (e.g., a snake, a tentacle, or a trunk). A numerical example is then reported for a swimming snake robot use case. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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18 pages, 18974 KiB  
Article
A 3D-Printed Soft Haptic Device with Built-in Force Sensing Delivering Bio-Mimicked Feedback
by Rahim Mutlu, Dilpreet Singh, Charbel Tawk and Emre Sariyildiz
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010127 - 22 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2947
Abstract
Haptics plays a significant role not only in the rehabilitation of neurological disorders, such as stroke, by substituting necessary cognitive information but also in human–computer interfaces (HCIs), which are now an integral part of the recently launched metaverse. This study proposes a unique, [...] Read more.
Haptics plays a significant role not only in the rehabilitation of neurological disorders, such as stroke, by substituting necessary cognitive information but also in human–computer interfaces (HCIs), which are now an integral part of the recently launched metaverse. This study proposes a unique, soft, monolithic haptic feedback device (SoHapS) that was directly manufactured using a low-cost and open-source fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer by employing a combination of soft conductive and nonconductive thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials (NinjaTek, USA). SoHapS consists of a soft bellow actuator and a soft resistive force sensor, which are optimized using finite element modeling (FEM). SoHapS was characterized both mechanically and electrically to assess its performance, and a dynamic model was developed to predict its force output with given pressure inputs. We demonstrated the efficacy of SoHapS in substituting biofeedback with tactile feedback, such as gripping force, and proprioceptive feedback, such as finger flexion–extension positions, in the context of teleoperation. With its intrinsic properties, SoHapS can be integrated into rehabilitation robots and robotic prostheses, as well as augmented, virtual, and mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) systems, to induce various types of bio-mimicked feedback. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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12 pages, 24458 KiB  
Article
Exploration of the Design of Spiderweb-Inspired Structures for Vibration-Driven Sensing
by Mahdi Naderinejad, Kai Junge and Josie Hughes
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010111 - 08 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2380
Abstract
In the quest to develop large-area soft sensors, we can look to nature for many examples. Spiderwebs show many fascinating properties that we can seek to understand and replicate in order to develop large-area, soft, and deformable sensing structures. Spiders’ webs are used [...] Read more.
In the quest to develop large-area soft sensors, we can look to nature for many examples. Spiderwebs show many fascinating properties that we can seek to understand and replicate in order to develop large-area, soft, and deformable sensing structures. Spiders’ webs are used not only to capture prey, but also to localize their prey through the vibrations that they feel through their legs. Inspired by spiderwebs, we developed a large-area tactile sensor for localizing contact points through vibration sensing. We hypothesize that the structure of a web can be leveraged to amplify, filter, or otherwise morphologically tune vibrations to improve sensing capabilities. To explore this design space, we created a means of computationally designing and 3D printing web structures. By using vibration sensors mounted on the edges of webs to simulate a spider monitoring vibrations, we show how varying the structural properties affects the localization performance when using vibration sensors and long short-term memory (LSTM)-based neural network classifiers. We seek to explain the classification performance seen in different webs by considering various metrics of information content for different webs and, hence, provide insight into how bio-inspired spiderwebs can be used to assist large-area sensing structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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12 pages, 2439 KiB  
Article
Design of a Magnetic Soft Inchworm Millirobot Based on Pre-Strained Elastomer with Micropillars
by Yuzhang Wei, Zehao Wu, Ziyi Dai, Bingpu Zhou and Qingsong Xu
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010022 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2261
Abstract
Rather than using longitudinal “muscle” as in biological inchworm, the existing magnetic active elastomer (MAE)-based inchworm robots utilize magnetic torque to pull and push the soft body, which hinders its locomotion mobility. In this paper, a new pre-strained MAE inchworm millirobot with micropillars [...] Read more.
Rather than using longitudinal “muscle” as in biological inchworm, the existing magnetic active elastomer (MAE)-based inchworm robots utilize magnetic torque to pull and push the soft body, which hinders its locomotion mobility. In this paper, a new pre-strained MAE inchworm millirobot with micropillars is proposed. The pre-strained elastomer serves as a pre-load muscle to contract the soft body, and the micropillars act as tiny feet to anchor the body during the locomotion. The proposed magnetic inchworm robot features a simple fabrication process that does not require special magnetization equipment. For the first time, the pre-load muscle is introduced in the design of magnetic inchworm robots, making it more like a real inchworm in terms of locomotion mechanism. The locomotion principle and parametric design for the desired locomotion performance have been investigated. Experimental results show that the fabricated magnetic inchworm robot (size: 10 mm × 5 mm, micropillars length: 200 µm, and mass: 262 g) can locomote on a smooth acrylic surface (roughness of 0.3 µm) at the speed of 0.125 body lengths per second, which is comparable with the existing magnetic inchworm robots. Moreover, the locomotion capabilities of the inchworm robot on wet surfaces and inclined planes have been verified via experimental studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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19 pages, 13244 KiB  
Article
MoCLORA—An Architecture for Legged-and-Climbing Modular Bio-Inspired Robotic Organism
by Carlos Prados, Miguel Hernando, Ernesto Gambao and Alberto Brunete
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010011 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2740
Abstract
MoCLORA (Modular Climbing-and-Legged Robotic Organism Architecture) is a software framework for climbing bio-inspired robotic organisms composed of modular robots (legs). It is presented as a modular low-level architecture that coordinates the modules of an organism with any morphology, at the same time allowing [...] Read more.
MoCLORA (Modular Climbing-and-Legged Robotic Organism Architecture) is a software framework for climbing bio-inspired robotic organisms composed of modular robots (legs). It is presented as a modular low-level architecture that coordinates the modules of an organism with any morphology, at the same time allowing exchanges between the physical robot and its digital twin. It includes the basic layers to control and coordinate all the elements, while allowing adding new higher-level components to improve the organism’s behavior. It is focused on the control of both the body and the legs of the organism, allowing for position and velocity control of the whole robot. Similarly to insects, which are able to adapt to new situations after the variation on the capacity of any of their legs, MoCLORA allows the control of organisms composed of a variable number of modules, arranged in different ways, giving the overall system the versatility to tackle a wide range of tasks in very diverse environments. The article also presents ROMERIN, a modular climbing and legged robotic organism, and its digital twin, which allows the creation of different module arrangements for testing. MoCLORA has been tested and validated with both the physical robot and its digital twin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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20 pages, 9116 KiB  
Article
Collaborative Continuum Robots for Remote Engineering Operations
by Nan Ma, Stephen Monk and David Cheneler
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010004 - 22 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1955
Abstract
In situ repair and maintenance of high-value industrial equipment is critical if they are to maintain the ability to continue vital operations. Conventional single-arm continuum robots have been proven numerous times to be successful tools for use in repair operations. However, often more [...] Read more.
In situ repair and maintenance of high-value industrial equipment is critical if they are to maintain the ability to continue vital operations. Conventional single-arm continuum robots have been proven numerous times to be successful tools for use in repair operations. However, often more than one arm is needed to ensure successful operation within several scenarios; thus, the collaborative operation of multiple arms is required. Here, we present the design and operating principles of a dual-arm continuum robot system designed to perform critical tasks within industrial settings. Here, presented are the design principle of the robotic system, the optimization-based inverse kinematic calculation of the 6-DoF continuum arms, and the collaborative operation strategy. The collaborative principle and algorithms used have been evaluated by a set of experiments to demonstrate the ability of the system to perform in situ machining operations. With the developed prototype and controller, the average error between planned and real toolpaths can be within 2.5 mm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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19 pages, 2790 KiB  
Article
Effect of the Thumb Orientation and Actuation on the Functionality and Performance of Affordable Prosthetic Hands: Obtaining Design Criteria
by Javier Andrés-Esperanza, Jose L. Iserte-Vilar, Immaculada Llop-Harillo and Antonio Pérez-González
Biomimetics 2022, 7(4), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7040233 - 11 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1753
Abstract
The advent of 3D printing technologies has enabled the development of low-cost prosthetic underactuated hands, with cables working as tendons for flexion. Despite the particular relevance to human grasp, its conception in prosthetics is based on vague intuitions of the designers due to [...] Read more.
The advent of 3D printing technologies has enabled the development of low-cost prosthetic underactuated hands, with cables working as tendons for flexion. Despite the particular relevance to human grasp, its conception in prosthetics is based on vague intuitions of the designers due to the lack of studies on its relevance to the functionality and performance of the device. In this work, some criteria for designers are provided regarding the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb in these devices. To this end, we studied four prosthetic hands of similar characteristics with the motion of abduction/adduction of the thumb resolved in three different ways: fixed at a certain abduction, coupled with the motion of flexion/extension, and actuated independently of the flexion/extension. The functionality and performance of the hands were assessed for the basic grasps using the Anthropomorphic Hand Assessment Protocol (AHAP) and a reduced version of the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP). As a general rule, it seems desirable that thumb adduction/abduction is performed independently of flexion/extension, although this adds one degree of control. If having this additional degree of control is beyond debate, coupled flexion/extension and adduction/abduction should be avoided in favour of the thumb having a fixed slight palmar abduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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20 pages, 10728 KiB  
Article
A Biomimetic Method to Replicate the Natural Fluid Movements of Swimming Snakes to Design Aquatic Robots
by Elie Gautreau, Xavier Bonnet, Juan Sandoval, Guillaume Fosseries, Anthony Herrel, Marc Arsicault, Saïd Zeghloul and Med Amine Laribi
Biomimetics 2022, 7(4), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7040223 - 03 Dec 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1845
Abstract
Replicating animal movements with robots provides powerful research tools because key parameters can be manipulated at will. Facing the lack of standard methods and the high complexity of biological systems, an incremental bioinspired approach is required. We followed this method to design a [...] Read more.
Replicating animal movements with robots provides powerful research tools because key parameters can be manipulated at will. Facing the lack of standard methods and the high complexity of biological systems, an incremental bioinspired approach is required. We followed this method to design a snake robot capable of reproducing the natural swimming gait of snakes, i.e., the lateral undulations of the whole body. Our goal was to shift away from the classical broken line design of poly-articulated snake robots to mimic the far more complex fluid movements of snakes. First, we examined the musculoskeletal systems of different snake species to extract key information, such as the flexibility or stiffness of the body. Second, we gathered the swimming kinematics of living snakes. Third, we developed a toolbox to implement the data that are relevant to technical solutions. We eventually built a prototype of an artificial body (not yet fitted with motors) that successfully reproduced the natural fluid lateral undulations of snakes when they swim. This basis is an essential step for designing realistic autonomous snake robots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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17 pages, 6289 KiB  
Article
Design and Development of a Multi-Functional Bioinspired Soft Robotic Actuator via Additive Manufacturing
by Nikolaos Kladovasilakis, Paschalis Sideridis, Dimitrios Tzetzis, Konstantinos Piliounis, Ioannis Kostavelis and Dimitrios Tzovaras
Biomimetics 2022, 7(3), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7030105 - 03 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2521
Abstract
The industrial revolution 4.0 has led to a burst in the development of robotic automation and platforms to increase productivity in the industrial and health domains. Hence, there is a necessity for the design and production of smart and multi-functional tools, which combine [...] Read more.
The industrial revolution 4.0 has led to a burst in the development of robotic automation and platforms to increase productivity in the industrial and health domains. Hence, there is a necessity for the design and production of smart and multi-functional tools, which combine several cutting-edge technologies, including additive manufacturing and smart control systems. In the current article, a novel multi-functional biomimetic soft actuator with a pneumatic motion system was designed and fabricated by combining different additive manufacturing techniques. The developed actuator was bioinspired by the natural kinematics, namely the motion mechanism of worms, and was designed to imitate the movement of a human finger. Furthermore, due to its modular design and the ability to adapt the actuator’s external covers depending on the requested task, this actuator is suitable for a wide range of applications, from soft (i.e., fruit grasping) or industrial grippers to medical exoskeletons for patients with mobility difficulties and neurological disorders. In detail, the motion system operates with two pneumatic chambers bonded to each other and fabricated from silicone rubber compounds molded with additively manufactured dies made of polymers. Moreover, the pneumatic system offers multiple-degrees-of-freedom motion and it is capable of bending in the range of −180° to 180°. The overall pneumatic system is protected by external covers made of 3D printed components whose material could be changed from rigid polymer for industrial applications to thermoplastic elastomer for complete soft robotic applications. In addition, these 3D printed parts control the angular range of the actuator in order to avoid the reaching of extreme configurations. Finally, the bio-robotic actuator is electronically controlled by PID controllers and its real-time position is monitored by a one-axis soft flex sensor which is embedded in the actuator’s configuration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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Review

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16 pages, 2750 KiB  
Review
Microbial Cells as a Microrobots: From Drug Delivery to Advanced Biosensors
by Pavel Gotovtsev
Biomimetics 2023, 8(1), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8010109 - 07 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2744
Abstract
The presented review focused on the microbial cell based system. This approach is based on the application of microorganisms as the main part of a robot that is responsible for the motility, cargo shipping, and in some cases, the production of useful chemicals. [...] Read more.
The presented review focused on the microbial cell based system. This approach is based on the application of microorganisms as the main part of a robot that is responsible for the motility, cargo shipping, and in some cases, the production of useful chemicals. Living cells in such microrobots have both advantages and disadvantages. Regarding the advantages, it is necessary to mention the motility of cells, which can be natural chemotaxis or phototaxis, depending on the organism. There are approaches to make cells magnetotactic by adding nanoparticles to their surface. Today, the results of the development of such microrobots have been widely discussed. It has been shown that there is a possibility of combining different types of taxis to enhance the control level of the microrobots based on the microorganisms’ cells and the efficiency of the solving task. Another advantage is the possibility of applying the whole potential of synthetic biology to make the behavior of the cells more controllable and complex. Biosynthesis of the cargo, advanced sensing, on/off switches, and other promising approaches are discussed within the context of the application for the microrobots. Thus, a synthetic biology application offers significant perspectives on microbial cell based microrobot development. Disadvantages that follow from the nature of microbial cells such as the number of external factors influence the cells, potential immune reaction, etc. They provide several limitations in the application, but do not decrease the bright perspectives of microrobots based on the cells of the microorganisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biorobotics)
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