A Fast Bipedal Biohybrid Crawler Driven by Single Muscle Swinging

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Robotics
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Biohybrid robots integrate biological and mechanical systems for applications in medicine and environmental monitoring.
• Current limitations in biohybrid robots include low speed and restricted movement due to muscle performance constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To overcome the speed and flexibility limitations of biohybrid robots.
• To introduce a novel muscle contraction mode for enhanced biohybrid robot locomotion.

Main Methods:

• Utilized triceps femoris muscle tissue from bullfrogs with a pennate fiber arrangement.
• Applied square wave stimulation to induce a novel muscle swinging motion, differing from traditional longitudinal contraction.
• Developed a biomimetic crawler actuated by the engineered muscle tissue.

Main Results:

• The developed biohybrid crawler demonstrated a novel, flexible, and controllable muscle swinging mode.
• Achieved significant forward movement speeds (average: ~6.19 mm/s, maximum: ~7.35 mm/s).
• Exhibited flexible turning capabilities (left: ~14.77°/s, right: ~9.55°/s) in a liquid environment.

Conclusions:

• The study presents a new method for actuating biohybrid robots using muscle tissue with enhanced performance.
• The findings offer valuable insights for developing advanced soft robots capable of lifelike motion.
• This research paves the way for overcoming conventional limitations in biohybrid robot applications.