Biohybrid Entities for Environmental Monitoring

Thenius, Ronald; Rajewicz, Wiktoria; Varughese, Joshua Cherian; Schoenwetter-Fuchs, Sarah; Arvin, Farshad; Casson, Alexander J.; Wu, Chao; Lennox, Barry; Campo, Alexandre; Vuuren, Godfried Jansen Van; Stefanini, Cesare; Romano, Donato; Schmickl, Thomas

doi:10.1162/isal_a_00366

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Robotic entities are able to reach not easily accessible habitats and remain there for long periods of time continuously gathering large amounts of data. One way to achieve a long-term energy-efficient monitoring is combining the electronic parts with living organisms to create so-called "biohybrids" [17]. Initiatives surrounding this topic have been carried out in the recent years [10,18,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The microbial activity enabled the aMussel to operate autonomously and also provided an insight into the benthic processes by monitoring the power output [20]. The concept of using a living organism as a sensor in biohybrid entities was extended with the project Robocoenosis [15][16][17]. Project Robocoenosis introduced here, aims to take a new perspective on this methodology and expand it with the use of multiple locally found lifeforms, such as mussels, Daphnia spp., Hydra spp., various larvae etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lifeforms employed as live biosensors can be mussels, Daphnia, benthic community structure and many others [15]. Here, core features of the project Robocoenosis and its various applications are presented [15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Use of Robots in Aquatic Biomonitoring with Special Focus on Biohybrid Entities

Rajewicz

Schmickl

Thenius

2022

Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics

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Aquatic monitoring is an essential part of battling the rising ecological crisis. Classical methods involving extensive sampling and sensor measurements are precise, however, time and money consuming. For these reasons, they are unsuitable for long-term continuous data collection. With the increasing water pollution, there is a need to monitor the environment in new, more efficient ways over a long period of time. Project Robocoenosis introduces a novel concept of autonomous, long-term aquatic monitoring with the use of biohybrids. By linking technological parts with living organisms, a more well-balanced information on the state of the environment can be obtained. This will be done by using organisms such as mussels and Daphnia as live biosensors and combining them with low-power robotics. The autonomous biohybrid entity will use Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) as a natural power source through electricity harvesting. The fields of operation are focused on various Austrian lakes including the lakes Lake Hallstatt and Lake Millstatt in the Alpine Region as well as Lake Neusiedler.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Use of Robots in Aquatic Biomonitoring with Special Focus on Biohybrid Entities

Rajewicz

Schmickl

Thenius

2022

Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics

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“…The collection of lifeforms and their responses form an 'artificial organism' that creates a symbiotic relationship with the mechanical parts. Such an active biohybrid agent is currently developed by the project Robocoenosis [14]. This entity uses several living organisms instead of mechatronic components and, thus by definition, is a biohybrid robotic system [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organisms as sensors in biohybrid entities as a novel tool for in-field aquatic monitoring

Rajewicz,

Wu,

Romano

et al. 2023

Bioinspir. Biomim.

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Rapidly intensifying global warming and water pollution calls for more efficient and continuous environmental monitoring methods. Biohybrid systems connect mechatronic components to living organisms and this approach can be used to extract data from the organisms. Compared to conventional monitoring methods, they allow for a broader data collection over long periods, minimizing the need for sampling processes and human labour. We aim to develop a methodology for creating various bioinspired entities, here referred to as ``biohybrids", designed for long-term aquatic monitoring. Here, we test several aspects of the development of the biohybrid entity: autonomous power source, lifeform integration and partial biodegradability. An autonomous power source was supplied by microbial fuel cells which exploit electron flows from microbial metabolic processes in the sediments. Here, we show that by stacking multiple cells, sufficient power can be supplied. We integrated lifeforms into the developed bioinspired entity which includes organisms such as the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and water flea Daphnia spp. The setups developed allowed for observing their stress behaviours. Through this, we can monitor changes in the environment in a continuous manner. The further development of this approach will allow for extensive, long-term aquatic data collection and create an early-warning monitoring system.

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“…However, due to the immense complexity of aquatic environments, a need arose for a more extensive and continuous water monitoring. Project Robocoenosis aims to develop a novel methodology for that purpose, with the use of "biohybrid entities" (Thenius et al, 2021). These devices are made by combining the electrical and mechanical robotic parts with living organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifeforms potentially useful for automated underwater monitoring systems

Rajewicz¹,

Romano²,

Varughese³

et al. 2022

The 2022 Conference on Artificial Life

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Biohybrids combine artificial robotic elements with living organisms. These novel technologies allow for obtaining useful data on the environment by implementing organisms as "living sensors". Natural water resources are under serious ecological threat and there is always a need for new, more efficient methods for aquatic monitoring. Project Robocoenosis introduces the use of biohybrid entities as low-cost and longterm environmental monitoring devices. This will be done by combining lifeforms with technical parts which will be powered with the use of MFCs. This concept will allow for a more well-rounded data collection and provide an insight into the water body with minimal human impact.

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Biohybrid Entities for Environmental Monitoring

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

The Use of Robots in Aquatic Biomonitoring with Special Focus on Biohybrid Entities

The Use of Robots in Aquatic Biomonitoring with Special Focus on Biohybrid Entities

Organisms as sensors in biohybrid entities as a novel tool for in-field aquatic monitoring

Lifeforms potentially useful for automated underwater monitoring systems

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