BABOTS: The design and control of small swarming biological animal robots

Introduction

We aim to establish a fundamentally new technology of Biological Animal roBots (BABots), consisting of small animals with a genetically modified nervous system, enabling the execution of a desired repertoire of behaviors beyond their natural abilities.

Project Overview

We will implement the first BABot system in C. elegans, a 1 mm long nematode worm. These worms will be programmed to act as a collective, and to detect, locate, and attack invading pathogens in an agricultural setting.

Advantages of BABots

Being 100% biological, BABots are:

• Highly compatible with the natural environment
• Self-producible
• Fully degradable

They will also be agile and highly sensitive to surrounding signals.

Control Mechanisms

To control BABot behavior, we will:

1. Genetically insert specific new synaptic connections
2. Implement synthetic gene circuits in C. elegans to produce artificial aggregation
3. Enable dynamic sensorimotor switching and other functional building blocks

To ensure a safe and controlled deployment, we will genetically implement a multi-layered biocontainment apparatus.

Collective Behavior

To gain tighter control over the BABot collective behavior, we will exploit heterogeneity in the population, blending, for example, leader and follower BABots based on their differential access to information.

Scientific Foundations

The science behind this innovative technology includes:

• A synthetic neurobiological approach to modifying individual worm behavior
• The study of collective behavior in engineered worms
• The development of a theory of heterogeneity-based swarm control

Safety and Ethics

We also dedicate a substantial effort to establish a firm and effective safety, ethical, and regulatory framework, under which current and future BABots can be developed.

Conclusion

This project will generate a radically new approach to bio-robotics that could contribute to precision agriculture, industry, and medicine. Improving over a previous proposal, we significantly enhanced:

• The methodology
• The safety and ethical aspects
• The demonstration and exploitation by implementation in an agricultural setting.