Biorobotics
[1] Cybernetics focuses on the communication and system of living organisms and machines that can be applied and combined with multiple fields of study such as biology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, and much more.
This discipline falls under the branch of biorobotics because of its combined field of study between biological bodies and mechanical systems.
Cybernetic theory is a concept that has existed for centuries, dating back to the era of Plato where he applied the term to refer to the "governance of people".
In the early 20th century, it was coined as an interdisciplinary field of study that combines biology, science, network theory, and engineering.
[2] Cybernetics is used as an umbrella term so applications extend to all systems related scientific fields such as biology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, management, psychology, sociology, art, and more.
[4] Genetic engineering is included in biorobotics because it uses new technologies to alter biology and change an organism's DNA for their and society's benefit.
The first successful case of genetic engineering occurred in 1973 when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen were able to transfer a gene with antibiotic resistance to a bacterium.
In the medical field, genetically modified bacteria are used to produce drugs such as insulin, human growth hormones and vaccines.
In research, scientists genetically modify organisms to observe physical and behavioral changes to understand the function of specific genes.
In agriculture, genetic engineering is extremely important as it is used by farmers to grow crops that are resistant to herbicides and to insects such as BTCorn.
In 1945, the National Academy of Sciences created the Artificial Limb Program, which focused on improving prosthetics since there were a large number of World War II amputee soldiers.
Since this creation, prosthetic materials, computer design methods, and surgical procedures have improved, creating modern-day bionics.
Artificial sensing-skin detects any pressure put on it and is meant for people who have lost any sense of feeling on parts of their bodies, such as diabetics with peripheral neuropathy.
[17] Replicating the retina, which contains millions of photoreceptors, and matching the human eye’s exceptional lensing and dynamic range capabilities pose significant challenges.
[18] BMIs allow for the processing of neural messaging between motor regions of the brain to muscles of a specific limb to initiate movement.
[21][22][23] While this representation draws a globally accurate view of the domain, some animal-robot interactions cannot be strictly classified into one or the other of these branches, or are sometimes a mixture of both.
To do this, stimuli naturally perceived by the animals are emitted by the robotic individuals, and this through different communication channels: visual cues, thermal pulses, vibration signals, etc.
The degree to which the robotic individuals successfully blend with the animal population is related to as bio-acceptance, and is often key to enable further behavioural study of the target species.
Adaptive robots can be used to implement models of specific roles or interactions within a group, enabling the testing of hypotheses about coordination, decision-making, or social organisation.
This approach bridges experimental and modelling techniques, in an attempt to offer insights into the underlying mechanisms of collective behaviour.
