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Biohybrid Actuators for Soft Robotics: Challenges in Scaling Up
Biohybrid Actuators for Soft Robotics: Challenges in Scaling Up
Phillip Won
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA)
Seung Hwan Ko
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
Carmel Majidi
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA)
Adam W. Feinberg
(Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA)
Victoria A. Webster-Wood
(Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA)
Journal: Actuators
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• MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2076-0825
Abstract
Living systems have evolved to survive in a wide range of environments and safely interact with other objects and organisms. Thus, living systems have been the source of inspiration for many researchers looking to apply their mechanics and unique characteristics in engineering robotics. Moving beyond bioinspiration, biohybrid actuators, with compliance and self-healing capabilities enabled by living cells or tissue interfaced with artificial structures, have drawn great interest as ways to address challenges in soft robotics, and in particular have seen success in small-scale robotic actuation. However, macro-scale biohybrid actuators beyond the centimeter scale currently face many practical obstacles. In this perspective, we discuss the challenges in scaling up biohybrid actuators and the path to realize large-scale biohybrid soft robotics.