✉news TechnologyRobotics first seen 18 h ago, last 15 h ago, peak #29
MIT Builds Gum-Sized Swimming Robot Powered by Living Muscle
Original: MIT Engineers Turned a Thin Layer of Living Muscle Into the Engine of a Gum-Sized Swimming Robot
MIT engineers have developed a tiny swimming robot, roughly the size of a stick of gum, that is powered by a thin layer of living muscle tissue acting as its engine. The biohybrid design lets the robot move through water using the natural contractions of muscle cells, an approach seen as a step toward small, soft robots for medical or environmental uses.
Why now: The novelty of using living muscle as a robot engine is drawing attention to advances in biohybrid robotics.
Evidence
- MIT Engineers Turned a Thin Layer of Living Muscle Into the Engine of a Gum-Sized Swimming Robot · Nature World News
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