Aquatic prototype robot could find use in medical applications

The researchers hope to create a 1cm-long aquatic prototype robot that will respond to things such as light and chemical gradients — with possible medical applications in mind.

‘The project is jointly funded by the US and the UK governments as highly risky transformative research related to synthetic biology,’ said Dr Daniel Frankel of Newcastle University. ‘It has an 80 per cent chance of failure.’

The idea of interfacing biological cells and tissue with electronics and machines — the ‘cyborg’ scenario — has been attempted previously. However, using wires or electrodes to directly connect with cells can damage them and does not produce a signal of sufficient speed or quality.

‘You’re limited by material development; you need to try and work out what material interfaces best with cells and tissue,’ Frankel said. ‘What’s really different about our research is that we’re altering the cells and tissue to interface with the machines and electronics using genetic engineering.’