Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Using electronics to build biohybrid robots with physical intelligence

Biohybrid robots, which rely on living muscles to drive force generation, could be of use in applications ranging from microsurgery to unmanned exploration. But the development of untethered and autonomous machines will require the integration of onboard electronics for sensing, control and power.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Progress in instrumented biohybrid robots.

References

  1. Raman, R. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 26, 223–245 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Nawroth, J. C. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 30, 792–797 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Guix, M. et al. Sci. Robot. 6, eabe7577 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Drennan, W. C. et al. Sci. Adv. 11, eadu8634 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Morita, T., Nie, M. & Takeuchi, S. Sci. Adv. 11, eadu9962 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Yang, H. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.06.663299 (2025).

  7. Rossy, T. et al. Biomater. Sci. 13, 2891–2907 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lynch, N. et al. Adv. Intell. Syst. 6, 2300834 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lind, J. U. et al. Nat. Mater. 16, 303–308 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Fullenkamp, D. E. et al. Sci. Adv. 10, eado7089 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Filippi, M. et al. Adv. Intell. Syst. 7, 2400413 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Herr, H. & Dennis, R. G. J. Neuroeng. Rehabil. 1, 6 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Morimoto, Y., Onoe, H. & Takeuchi, S. Sci. Robot. 3, eaat4440 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Min, H. et al. Sci. Robot. 10, eadu5830 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Tetsuka, H., Gobbi, S., Hatanaka, T., Pirrami, L. & Shin, S. R. Sci. Robot. 9, eado0051 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

R.R. acknowledges funding support from the DoD Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (N00014-24-1-2060), DoD Army Research Office Early Career Program and PECASE (W911NF-22-1-0126), and the NSF CAREER Program (2238715). A.B. is supported by the MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship for Engineering Excellence.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ritu Raman.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, I., Berman, A. & Raman, R. Using electronics to build biohybrid robots with physical intelligence. Nat Electron 9, 8–10 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-025-01552-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-025-01552-6

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing