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Xenobot: World's first living robot.

  Robots are cool. They are made to mimic human characteristics. But, most of the robots present now, even if they are made using the most advanced technologies, fall short of working like real organisms. Or do they? Recently, researchers have made new millimeter-sized robots, that are actually made from living human cells, and programmed using a supercomputer. Such robots are also called as Computer Designed Organisms (CDOs).

Xenobots are the world's first living robots made from living cells.

How were Xenobots made?

Researchers from the University of Vermont and Tufts University created microscopic 'programmable' life forms that could be controlled using a computer. These lifeforms are called Xenobots. Using stem cells taken from the African clawed frog, these robots are controlled using a sophisticated computer algorithm. The stem cells were first differentiated into skin cells and heart muscle cells. Skin cells were used to build the structure of the robot, due to their bonding capacity. And the heart cells were selected for the robot's movement because of their ability to contract and expand. So, the heart cells would actually act as an engine for the Xenobot. The data of the natural dynamics between these two cells was then fed to an algorithm run using a supercomputer. The algorithm generated different cell configurations, for different operations that are to be performed by the Xenobot. 

Xenobots are worlds first living robots!

Each cell configuration is an array of the placement of heart cells and skin cells to allow the robot to perform a specific movement. Among all the configurations generated by the computer, only a few were selected as a result of rigorous testing. These 'chosen ones' would be the blueprints of the Xenobots. Now, once they had the blueprints, they just had to construct the robot. Easy, right? No. Remember that the researchers were using cells to create the Xenobots, which means, they have to perform microsurgery on these cells. They did this using microscopic forceps and a microscope. After these painstaking operations, the first Xenobot was created. 

What makes Xenobots so special?

Xenobots are special because of their flexibility in applications. These robots can be used in a vast field of application, include from drug delivery in our body to cleaning sea waste. What makes them the most special is the fact that they can be designed as per the mode of the application using just two types of living cells. Here are some properties of Xenobots:
  1. They can heal themselves.
  2. They can work in swarms and communicate with each while working.
  3. Can be designed as per need.
  4. Xenobots are bio-degradable.

Where would Xenobots be used?

Xenobots are worlds first living robots!

As I said earlier, Xenobots can be useful in a wide range of applications. They can be used to clean the oceans by removing micropastics. For this task, a Xenobot could be developed which has a cavity inside it. This robot would swallow the microplastic particle, and then carry it to the designated place. The same mechanism can also be used to deliver medicines in our body without triggering any response from the immune system. Apart from this, Xenobots can be used to repair damaged tissues and cells in our bodies. They can also help us understand the exact way cells communicate with each other. Being biodegradable, they will not contribute to any type of pollution. 

Update: 

Researchers who created Xenobots have now upgraded them to a new version, called Xenobot 2.0. These Xenobots are able to store information in their memory, unlike the old Xenobots, which had to be supervised. Also, Xenobot 2.0 are a much advanced version of the older Xenobots. Xenobot 2.0 are more faster, can self-assemble, and live much longer the previous Xenobots, which lived a maximum of a week. Also, there is a structure change in Xenobot 2.0. They have tiny hair like outgrowths, also called cilia, that help them in locomotion. 

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