Cyberplasm

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What they say about it

Cyberplasm is a micro-scale robot based on principles of synthetic biology. Its construction will be accomplished using a combination of cellular device integration, advanced microelectronics and biomimicry, an approach that mimics animal models; in the latter, we will imitate some of the behavior of the marine animal, the sea lamprey. Synthetic muscle will generate undulatory movements to propel the robot through the water. Synthetic sensors derived from yeast cells will be reporting signals from the immediate environment. These signals will be processed by an electronic nervous system. The electronic brain will, in turn, generate signals to drive the muscle cells that will use glucose for energy. All electronic components will be powered by a microbial fuel cell integrated into the robot body.

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How they say it works

The aim of this program is to construct Cyberplasm, a micro-scale robot using principles of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is being carried out at the systems level by interfacing multiple cellular/bacterial devices together, connecting to an electronic brain and in effect creating a multi-cellular biohybrid micro-robot. Using an approach that mimics animal models, a combination of cellular device integration, advanced microelectronics and biomimicry, Cyberplasm will imitate some of the behavior of the marine animal model, the sea lamprey. Cyberplasm harnesses the power of synthetic biology at the cellular level by integrating specific gene “parts” into bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells to carry out device-like functions. This approach allows the cells/bacteria to be "simplified" so that the input/output (I/O) requirements of device integration can be addressed. Synthetic muscle generates undulatory movements to propel the robot through the water. Motile function is achieved by engineering muscle cells to have the minimal cellular machinery required for excitation/contraction coupling and contractile function. The muscle is powered by mitochondrial conversion of glucose to ATP, an energetic currency in biological cells, hence combining power generation with actuation. Synthetic sensors derived from yeast cells report signals from the immediate environment. The signals serve as input to an electronic nervous system. The electronic brain generates signals to drive the muscle cells that use glucose for energy. All electronic components are powered by a microbial fuel cell integrated into the robot body.

Market Status
Synbio Components
Websites
web.mit.edu
www.ua.edu
www.ncl.ac.uk
www.northeastern.edu
Additional Sources
Science Magazine article mentioning cyberplasm development team