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Rasakatla S, Tenma W, Suzuki T, Indurkhya B, Mizuuchi I. CameraRoach: A WiFi- and Camera-Enabled Cyborg Cockroach for Search and Rescue. JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS AND MECHATRONICS 2022. [DOI: 10.20965/jrm.2022.p0149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We describe here our design and implementation of a cyborg insect, called CameraRoach, with onboard camera feedback that can be navigated via remote control providing a first-person view. The camera pack is mounted on the Madagascar hissing cockroach, which is small enough to fit into crevices but also can carry a printed circuit boards with power, communication, and sensor components (visual camera). For navigating the cockroach, we implemented a unique electronic backpack neural stimulator, which allows the cockroach to be maneuvered on a desired path with a joystick. A high-resolution wireless camera, also included in the backpack, sends live images via a WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) network. We present the results of an evaluation experiment with the CameraRoach and compare it with the other state of the art systems like the Beetle-Cam.
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Heinrich MK, von Mammen S, Hofstadler DN, Wahby M, Zahadat P, Skrzypczak T, Soorati MD, Krela R, Kwiatkowski W, Schmickl T, Ayres P, Stoy K, Hamann H. Constructing living buildings: a review of relevant technologies for a novel application of biohybrid robotics. J R Soc Interface 2019; 16:20190238. [PMID: 31362616 PMCID: PMC6685033 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Biohybrid robotics takes an engineering approach to the expansion and exploitation of biological behaviours for application to automated tasks. Here, we identify the construction of living buildings and infrastructure as a high-potential application domain for biohybrid robotics, and review technological advances relevant to its future development. Construction, civil infrastructure maintenance and building occupancy in the last decades have comprised a major portion of economic production, energy consumption and carbon emissions. Integrating biological organisms into automated construction tasks and permanent building components therefore has high potential for impact. Live materials can provide several advantages over standard synthetic construction materials, including self-repair of damage, increase rather than degradation of structural performance over time, resilience to corrosive environments, support of biodiversity, and mitigation of urban heat islands. Here, we review relevant technologies, which are currently disparate. They span robotics, self-organizing systems, artificial life, construction automation, structural engineering, architecture, bioengineering, biomaterials, and molecular and cellular biology. In these disciplines, developments relevant to biohybrid construction and living buildings are in the early stages, and typically are not exchanged between disciplines. We, therefore, consider this review useful to the future development of biohybrid engineering for this highly interdisciplinary application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Katherine Heinrich
- Institute of Computer Engineering, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- School of Architecture, Centre for IT and Architecture, Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sebastian von Mammen
- Human–Computer Interaction, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | | | - Mostafa Wahby
- Institute of Computer Engineering, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Payam Zahadat
- Institute of Biology, Artificial Life Lab, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- Department of Computer Science, IT University of Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
| | - Tomasz Skrzypczak
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
| | | | - Rafał Krela
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
| | - Wojciech Kwiatkowski
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
| | - Thomas Schmickl
- Institute of Biology, Artificial Life Lab, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Phil Ayres
- School of Architecture, Centre for IT and Architecture, Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kasper Stoy
- Department of Computer Science, IT University of Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
| | - Heiko Hamann
- Institute of Computer Engineering, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
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Romano D, Donati E, Benelli G, Stefanini C. A review on animal-robot interaction: from bio-hybrid organisms to mixed societies. BIOLOGICAL CYBERNETICS 2019; 113:201-225. [PMID: 30430234 DOI: 10.1007/s00422-018-0787-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms are far superior to state-of-the-art robots as they have evolved a wide number of capabilities that far encompass our most advanced technologies. The merging of biological and artificial world, both physically and cognitively, represents a new trend in robotics that provides promising prospects to revolutionize the paradigms of conventional bio-inspired design as well as biological research. In this review, a comprehensive definition of animal-robot interactive technologies is given. They can be at animal level, by augmenting physical or mental capabilities through an integrated technology, or at group level, in which real animals interact with robotic conspecifics. Furthermore, an overview of the current state of the art and the recent trends in this novel context is provided. Bio-hybrid organisms represent a promising research area allowing us to understand how a biological apparatus (e.g. muscular and/or neural) works, thanks to the interaction with the integrated technologies. Furthermore, by using artificial agents, it is possible to shed light on social behaviours characterizing mixed societies. The robots can be used to manipulate groups of living organisms to understand self-organization and the evolution of cooperative behaviour and communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donato Romano
- The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
| | - Elisa Donati
- The Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Giovanni Benelli
- The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Cesare Stefanini
- The BioRobotics Institute, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy
- HEIC Center, BME Department, Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE
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In vitro electrochemical assessment of electrodes for neurostimulation in roach biobots. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203880. [PMID: 30303994 PMCID: PMC6179205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Biobotics investigates the use of live insects as biological robots whose locomotion can be controlled by neurostimulation through implanted electrodes. Inactivity in the biobots (biological robots) can sometimes be noticed following extended neurostimulation, partly owing to incompatibility of implanted electrodes with the biobotic application or gradual degradation of the tissue-electrode interface. Implanted electrodes need to sufficiently exhibit consistent, reliable, and stable performance during stimulation experiments, have low tissue-electrode impedance, facilitate good charge injection capacity, and be compact in size or shape. Towards the goal of finding such electrodes suitable for biobotic applications, we compare electrochemical performances of five different types of electrodes in vitro with a saline based electrolytic medium. These include stainless steel wire electrodes, microfabricated flexible gold electrodes coated with PEDOT:PSS conductive polymer, eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) in a tube, and “hybrid” stainless steel electrodes coated with EGaIn. We also performed accelerated aging of the electrodes to help estimate their longitudinal performance. Based on our experimentation, microfabricated electrodes with PEDOT:PSS and stainless steel electrodes coated with EGaIn performed remarkably well. This is the first time conductive polymer and liquid metal electrodes were studied comparatively for neurostimulation applications. These in vitro comparison results will be used in the future to provide a benchmark for subsequent in vivo tests with implanted electrodes in cockroach biobots.
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Xiong H, Agcayazi T, Latif T, Bozkurt A, Sichitiu ML. Towards acoustic localization for biobotic sensor networks. 2017 IEEE SENSORS 2017. [DOI: 10.1109/icsens.2017.8234245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
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Latif T, Lobaton E, Bozkurt A. Preliminary statistical assessment towards characterization of biobotic control. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2017; 2016:2184-2187. [PMID: 28268764 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2016.7591162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Biobotic research involving neurostimulation of instrumented insects to control their locomotion is finding potential as an alternative solution towards development of centimeter-scale distributed swarm robotics. To improve the reliability of biobotic agents, their control mechanism needs to be precisely characterized. To achieve this goal, this paper presents our initial efforts for statistical assessment of the angular response of roach biobots to the applied bioelectrical stimulus. Subsequent findings can help to understand the effect of each stimulation parameter individually or collectively and eventually reach reliable and consistent biobotic control suitable for real life scenarios.
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Erickson JC, Herrera M, Bustamante M, Shingiro A, Bowen T. Effective Stimulus Parameters for Directed Locomotion in Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Biobot. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0134348. [PMID: 26308337 PMCID: PMC4550421 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Swarms of insects instrumented with wireless electronic backpacks have previously been proposed for potential use in search and rescue operations. Before deploying such biobot swarms, an effective long-term neural-electric stimulus interface must be established, and the locomotion response to various stimuli quantified. To this end, we studied a variety of pulse types (mono- vs. bipolar; voltage- vs. current-controlled) and shapes (amplitude, frequency, duration) to parameters that are most effective for evoking locomotion along a desired path in the Madagascar hissing cockroach (G. portentosa) in response to antennal and cercal stimulation. We identified bipolar, 2 V, 50 Hz, 0.5 s voltage controlled pulses as being optimal for evoking forward motion and turns in the expected contraversive direction without habituation in ≈50% of test subjects, a substantial increase over ≈10% success rates previously reported. Larger amplitudes for voltage (1–4 V) and current (50–150 μA) pulses generally evoked larger forward walking (15.6–25.6 cm; 3.9–5.6 cm/s) but smaller concomitant turning responses (149 to 80.0 deg; 62.8 to 41.2 deg/s). Thus, the radius of curvature of the initial turn-then-run locomotor response (≈10–25 cm) could be controlled in a graded manner by varying the stimulus amplitude. These findings could be used to help optimize stimulus protocols for swarms of cockroach biobots navigating unknown terrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C. Erickson
- Department of Physics-Engineering, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - María Herrera
- Department of Physics-Engineering, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Mauricio Bustamante
- Department of Physics-Engineering, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Aristide Shingiro
- Department of Physics-Engineering, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Thomas Bowen
- Department of Physics-Engineering, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, United States of America
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