Collaborative Research: Modular Biological Robots with Variable Morphology

This project will create functional modules, controlled using different colors of light, to enable new capabilities for "biobots" -- that is, robots fabricated from biological cells -- including the ability to split apart or join together on command. Specific biobot behaviors will be modeled and designed using predictive numerical simulations, advanced in parallel with the new modules. These new capabilities will be validated through an ambitious sequence of increasingly complex and demanding tasks. For example, a star-shaped biobot might separate into multiple linear biobots to travel through small holes in a barrier and reach an objective, or multiple biobots might join together to form a larger biobot that can manipulate and transport a comparably sized object. While the tasks in this project are intended as a proof of concept, biobots such as these have potential for specialized resource gathering, or for sequestration of hazardous waste. The biobots also serve as an ideal platform for outreach and education in the area of biorobotics. This project uses biophysical simulations and machine learning to design shapeshifting machines in silico and a novel fabrication method to realize them in vitro. The simulations and computational design method significantly decreases design-manufacture cycle times and reduces biomaterial waste. The biofabrication approach enables modularity of form and function, as well as shape change, across several length scales. This also enables the generation of arbitrary geometries with specific topological, geometrical, material, sensory, and motoric arrangements, greatly expanding the morphological and behavioral complexity of biobots. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.