According to a study, robots built with lab-grown skeletal muscle tissue could require physical exercises similar to those of humans. Called biohybrid robots, these innovations can achieve lifelike agility with exercises like human workouts.
A new study from China concluded that physical training of artificial muscles during their growth phase can double contraction strength. It can also enable biohybrid caterpillar-bot to move much faster than conventional processes.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed an electromechanical co-stimulation system to boost the effectiveness and performance of artificial skeletal muscle tissues.
Mechanical training for the artificial skeletal muscle
Published in a January issue of the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Functional Materials, the researchers developed a system to simultaneously apply electrical and mechanical training to the artificial skeletal muscle as it grows like human muscle is trained.
According to the study, Chuang Zhang and co-workers, inspired by the training mode of human skeletal muscle, proposed the electromechanical co-stimulation system for the enhanced culture of artificial skeletal muscle tissue.
In this system, electrical fields simultaneously stimulate muscle tissue and dynamically adjustable mechanical resistance. The co-stimulated muscle tissue demonstrates robust driving performance, allowing faster robot movement, as per the researchers.
Enhanced artificial muscle tissue
Chinese researchers used the system to create enhanced artificial muscle tissue that could power a small caterpillar-like robot to move at a maximum speed of 2.38mm per second – faster than other reported lifelike robots driven by artificial skeletal muscle tissue. The maximum contraction force of the artificial muscle increased by 98 percent, and the performance of the artificial muscle in some aspects was similar to natural muscle, reported SCMP.
Scientists revealed that biohybrid robots combine living and synthetic materials, taking the forms of limbs and organs or even entire living organisms. It’s also claimed that with lessons from biohybrid robotics, scientists could one day build a complex, living being from scratch.
Biohybrid robots might have muscle cells as actuators, neurons as motor controllers, and sensory cells as tactile sensors. Some even build upon living organisms themselves. Biohybrid robots use living systems’ millions of years of evolution to grant robots benefits such as self-healing, greater adaptability, and superior sensor resolution.
Latest system relies on electrodes to deliver uniform electrical stimulation
Earlier studies proposed stimulation techniques for culturing artificial skeletal muscle tissue, but there were multiple challenges.
The latest system proposed by Chinese researchers relies on electrodes to deliver uniform electrical stimulation to promote muscle contraction and growth.
A spring mechanism is also used to create mechanical stimulation as the tissue contracts against it. The system offers stimulation and can measure the contractile force of the artificial tissue in real-time, allowing for the stimulation to be adjusted as the muscle changes.