In a groundbreaking stride towards the future of robotics, MIT engineers have devised a new method for creating artificial muscle tissues that can twitch and flex in multiple coordinated directions. This innovation could pave the way for biohybrid robots that possess the ability to navigate through tight spaces with a greater degree of freedom than their rigid counterparts.
According to an article published by MIT News, the scientists' approach centers on growing muscle cells that can contract concentrically, and radially - somewhat akin to the muscles controlling the pupil in the human eye. To achieve this, a handheld stamp patterned with minute grooves was utilized, and upon imprinting it into a hydrogel, muscle cells were seeded into the created patterns.
"With the iris design, we believe we have demonstrated the first skeletal muscle-powered robot that generates force in more than one direction. That was uniquely enabled by this stamp approach," Ritu Raman, the Eugene Bell Career Development Professor of Tissue Engineering at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, told MIT News. The process allows for the replication of the intricate architectural complexity found in natural muscle tissues, offering significantly more precision in fabrication.
This 'stamping' approach can be printed using conventional tabletop 3D printers, boasting compatibility with various cell types, such as neurons and heart cells. The researchers believe such engineered tissues could be instrumental, not only for soft robotics but potentially for medical applications dealing with neuromuscular injuries too. Their findings have been detailed in the open-access journal Biomaterials Science, together with collaborators from Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Moving forward, the MIT team is keen on exploring different muscle architectures and how these artificial tissues can be activated to perform useful tasks. "Instead of using rigid actuators that are typical in underwater robots, if we can use soft biological robots, we can navigate and be much more energy-efficient, while also being completely biodegradable and sustainable," Raman says. This research is supported by several U.S. governmental agencies including the Office of Naval Research, the Army Research Office, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health as detailed by MIT News.
