HyBRIDS: Hybridizing Biology and Robotics through Integration for Deployable Systems

Robotic platforms are deployed in various national security contexts, but many operational environments and applications remain out of reach for existing technologies. 

Nature provides inspiration and solutions to advance robotic technologies, but the performance of biological systems remains largely unmatched even as robotic systems become increasingly sophisticated.  Recent advancements in—coupled with the convergence of—engineering and biology have propelled the development of biohybrid robots, which combine biological and synthetic components. 

Biohybrid systems could have distinct advantages over traditional synthetic robots in some operational contexts. 

While fully engineered abiotic systems prioritize controllability and precision for on-demand performance, biological systems inherently excel in their resiliency, sensitivity, adaptability, and efficiency.  Biohybrid robots aim to combine the best features of both realms by leveraging the precise control of engineered parts while harnessing the unique, innate capabilities of biological elements. Successfully integrating biological components (e.g., cells, tissues, or organisms) could extend the functionality of robotic systems. 

Despite their promise, today’s biohybrid robots typically underperform their fully synthetic counterparts and their potential as predicted from a reductionist assessment of constituents. 

Many systems represent enticing proofs of concept with limited practical applicability.  Most remain confined to controlled laboratory settings and lack feasibility in complex real-world environments. 

Developing biohybrid robots is currently a painstaking, bespoke process, and the resulting systems are routinely inadequately characterized. Complex, intertwined relationships between component, interface, and system performance are poorly understood, and methodologies to guide informed design of biohybrid systems are lacking. 

The HyBRIDS ARC opportunity seeks ideas to address the question: How can synthetic and biological components be integrated to enable biohybrid platforms that outperform traditional robotic systems?