Robot controlled by living cells

For the first time, the live robot works by Dr. Klause Peter Johner of Sauthampton University has been launched. These are molds that are sensitive to light, specialized in growing for this purpose.

Dr. Johner planted a six-pointed star shaped mold, each with a star-studded robot. This is a robot testing machine.

When white light reaches certain areas of this single-celled fungus, the fungus begins to vibrate and change in thickness. These vibration frequencies are transmitted to the computer, which then emits signals that move the legs of the robot. If shining light rays to different areas of the mold, the legs will move. If the projection is continuous then the robot will go.

Qrio robot. Artwork from a foreign website.

British scientists have created the robot, along with Japanese researchers at Kobe University, to study ways to use live cells in robotics.

Dr. Johner tries to improve the control of robots by the individual molecules of living cells, rather than the raw cells.

According to scientists, the experience of applying biological cells to electronic devices has been used for a long time, but only in the sensory part. Dr. Johner's work is the first demonstration of the use of cells to monitor robot activity. The point here is that cells can recover and rebuild themselves, which normal technology can not do.

Thanks to the use of biological cells, robots can self-regulate part of their movement, such as being able to overcome obstacles and move in complex terrain. Therefore, robots that receive biological functions will be able to react to unexpected situations that arise in their surroundings.

According to Dr. Johner, the use of biological cells in robotic research has only just begun.