To replicate the movements of bacteria, a team of US scientists have created a biomimetic robot.

Powered by an environmentally controlled voltage source (ECVS) as opposed to an onboard battery, the robot produces movements via the catalysing of an oxidation reaction when placed on a metal surface.

According to an article on The Engineer, each of the robot’s wheels are powered by separate ECVS units. In result, the robot is able to stick to a path and navigate away from any non-metallic materials. 

This was shown in a test by the team from Penn State University, where the robot was able to steer clear of a track boundary that was made up of kapton tape whilst sticking to a path that was comprised of aluminium. 

“Bacteria are able to autonomously navigate toward nutrients through a process called chemotaxis, where they sense and respond to changes in chemical concentrations,” said James Pikul, who is an assistant professor in Penn Engineering’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics.

“Small robots have similar constraints to microorganisms, since they can’t carry big batteries or complicated computers, so we wanted to explore how our ECVS technology could replicate that kind of behaviour.”

Moving forward, Pikul and his team believe that this technology could be used in a more advanced manner with regards to responsive behaviours in autonomous robots, citing robots manoeuvring themselves through hazardous environments as an example.