What if robots were not just machines, but living organisms that could heal themselves and perform tasks beyond human imagination? In 2020, a team of scientists led by Sam Kriegman, Douglas Blackiston, Micheal Levin, and Josh Bongard made this a reality by creating Xenobots, the world’s first living robots. These tiny biological machines have captured the world’s imagination with their incredible abilities and potential to revolutionize the future of technology.
These organisms are composed of stem cells of Xenopus laevis, also known as the African clawed frog. Comprised of approximately 3000 cells with a size of less than 1 millimeter, there are numerous possibilities on how this newly created organism can be used (Hunt, 2021). They cannot be considered a frog even though they are composed of frog stem cells, as the design of their anatomy was carefully selected by numerous computer simulations. Furthermore, it is proven that they possess intelligence, as they can reshape themselves even when they are not genome cells. They are the first officially known organism that evolved inside a computer and not on Earth (Levin, 2020).
Xenobots are created by extracting skin and heart muscle cells from the fertilized embryo of Xenopus laevis. The stem cells were able to re-imagine their unicellular nature (Kriegman et al., 2021) as the scientists were able to alter and intercept their bioelectricity with no genetic editing. Bioelectricity, also known as non-neural electricity, is used when cells communicate and decide what processes the cells should undergo. Different patterns of bioelectricity were applied, changing the courses of action of the cells, which led to the current state of the Xenobots.
These organisms are utterly remarkable – they have the ability to ‘reproduce’ through the process of kinetic replication. Kinetic replication is a process in which raw materials merge into self-supporting duplicates that are practical. According to theories, it is possible for replicators to copy themselves when they have enough raw materials to build the designed shape. Therefore, using the stem cells available in the surrounding environment, Xenobots are able to replicate themselves through this process by compacting the cells together (Levin, 2020).
The Xenobots take the C-shape that resembles Pac-Man, a popular video game character. This particular form is highly advantageous as Xenobots are able to use their ‘mouth’ to gather and compress stem cells for replication. However, they cannot ‘reproduce’ infinitely. As the parent Xenobots replicate, they pass down energy to their offspring. The energy provided by the parent is used for more replication, and this process halts when the energy runs out (Kriegman et al., 2021).
When Xenobots were first invented, they took a spheroid shape rather than the C-shape today. Yet after numerous trials, the scientists found that the initial shape was not suitable for replication. Hence, they adjusted the shape using computer simulations and discovered that the current C-shape worked most efficiently in kinetic replication (Leston, 2021).
Xenobots are still in the midst of their technological advancement, but there are many areas where they can be applied. Microplastics, one of the major scientific issues in the contemporary world today, can be cleaned up using Xenobots. Unlike many other technologies, there are no concerns with Xenobots accumulating pollution as they are biodegradable. It can also participate in the medical field to collect cancer cells around the body or reshape arthritic joints (Levin, 2020).
