Outputs: Research Articles

Ethics and Responsibility in Biohybrid Robotics Research: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Mestre, R., Astobiza, A. M., Webster-Wood, V. A., Ryan, M., & Saif, M. T. A. (2024). Ethics and responsibility in biohybrid robotics research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(31), e2310458121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2310458121.

Abstract: The industrial revolution of the 19th century marked the onset of an era of machines and robots that transformed societies. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new generation of robots envisions similar societal transformation. These robots are biohybrid: part living and part engineered. They may self-assemble and emerge from complex interactions between living cells. While this new era of living robots presents unprecedented opportunities for positive societal impact, it also poses a host of ethical challenges. A systematic, nuanced examination of these ethical issues is of paramount importance to guide the evolution of this nascent field. Multidisciplinary fields face the challenge that inertia around collective action to address ethical boundaries may result in unexpected consequences for researchers and societies alike.

Review Paper: Biohybrid robotics: from the nanoscale to the macroscale – Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs)

Biohybrid robotics: from the nanoscale to the macroscale. R Mestre, T Patiño & S Sánchez, 2021, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, 13(5), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1703.

Abstract: Biohybrid robotics combines biological entities with artificial materials to achieve enhanced performance or unique features challenging to replicate with synthetic materials. Integration occurs at three scales: nanoscale, microscale, and macroscale. At the nanoscale, enzymes catalyze biocompatible reactions, powering self-propelled nanoparticles for biomedical uses such as drug delivery. At the microscale, whole cells like bacteria or spermatozoa replace enzymes, leveraging their motility for cargo transport, drug delivery, in vitro fertilization, or biofilm removal. At the macroscale, tissues comprising millions of cells, such as cardiac or skeletal muscle, enable biorobotic devices powered by tissue contractions. These untethered systems mimic crawling or swimming, while ongoing advancements aim to integrate various tissue types for more realistic biomimetic devices. Tethered bioactuators, on the other hand, excel as tissue models for drug screening or studying muscle disorders due to their three-dimensional structure.

Working paper: Biohybrid robotics as a fragmented frontier of biopolitics

The paper in progress examines the emerging field of tissue-based biohybrid robotics within the context of biopolitics. Biohybrid robotics combines living tissues with synthetic components to create robots with unique capabilities, such as artificial stingrays, jellyfish, and xenobots. These models are fragile, short-lived, and reliant on specialized laboratory environments, reflecting the nascent and fragmented state of the field. The research highlights the lack of standardization in biohybrid robotics and introduces the concept of a “fragmentary frontier” to describe its development and challenges. We argue that while biohybrid research does not redefine life itself, it produces isolated, specialised systems that address specific technological and biomedical questions, connecting these innovations to broader biopolitical discussions.

Working paper: Actor-network deliberation

The paper in progress explores the ethical challenges of emerging technologies, using biohybrid robotics as a case study to demonstrate the feasibility and necessity of ethical evaluation despite the crisis of expertise. Biohybrid robotics is categorized into bottom-up and top-down design paradigms, emphasising its interdisciplinary nature and reliance on diverse fields such as biology and engineering. We examine two approaches from Science and Technology Studies (STS)—Studies of Expertise and Experience (SEE) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT)—arguing that ANT is better suited to address the complexity of biohybrid robotics due to its focus on networks of human and nonhuman actors. The paper proposes using ANT and deliberative methods, including stakeholder and issue mapping, to conceptualize biohybrid robotics as a ‘network of expertise.’ This approach integrates diverse perspectives, addressing ethical concerns and fostering the responsible development of emerging technologies.