Construction, Control, and Application of Cyborg Animal Composed of Biological and Electromechanical Systems

The limitations of biohybrid and mechanical robots, including insufficient control accuracy, limited flexibility, long-term stability, and endurance, have spurred considerable research interest in cyborg animals, which leverage the innate locomotion capabilities, physiological systems, and natural intelligence of organisms to perform tasks with high adaptability, superior performance, and extended endurance. This study provides a comprehensive overview of cyborg animals within the framework of animal taxonomy, summarizing the current state of research from a zoological perspective. Subsequently, the effect of different control techniques on the locomotion performance of cyborg animals was examined, with a special emphasis on 2 prominent research areas: brain-computer interfaces and muscle-receptor electrical stimulation. In addition, the role of advances in electronic backpack design and navigation control algorithms in enabling closed-loop control and applications, including swarm robotics, environmental exploration, and human-machine interaction, is also introduced, offering valuable insights for developing cyborg animals. This study highlights 4 critical aspects essential for the future advancement of cyborg animals by synthesizing recent progress and clarifying technical distinctions: adaptation between control strategies and animals, biocompatibility and stability of electronic backpacks, construction of interactive hybrid robotic systems, and ethical and welfare considerations related to the experimental animals, with the hope of facilitating the optimization and application of cyborg animal systems.