An insight into xenobots -the first-ever robots

How many of us were enamoured when Wall E came on the big screen for the first time? Or how about Big Hero 6 or i- Robot? These films showed us what the world of robots and artificial intelligence could do soon if rightly implemented.

Bots are no more simple experimental subjects bound within the four walls of high tech laboratories. The introduction of bots that are custom based on Artificial intelligence has been in the experiment for decades. However, the implementation of these bots was always in a hypothetical state until very recently.

Xenobots are the first-ever microbots created that can be successfully experimented in reality instead of hypothetical and virtual experimentation. The prospect of Xenobots is limitless, and the study can go on for ages together to implement its usage in every possible aspect of life.

What are Xenobots?

In simple language, these are microrobots that have been created by the perfect fusion of Artificial intelligence with harvested stem cells. These nanorobots can travel within the human body without causing any disruption of functionality. Primarily to be used for faster drug delivery and specific location-based healing, the extent of its workability is yet to reach its potential.

When these Xenobots are delivered into the body, they can survive for weeks together without the need for recharging or new food. In fact, during this period, these Xenobots can always keep travelling to various target regions without the need for refuelling.

Besides its immense potential in the healthcare industry, Xenobots can be implemented in various other sectors for effective results. The specific areas that may show drastic changes if the usage of Xenobots is applied are the oceanic debris cleanup at a massively faster rate and accelerated plastic decomposition.

Why were the nanorobots named Xenobot?

There is a specific reason why these nanobots were named as Xenobots. The first-ever successful Xenobots was created by using stem cells from African Clawed Frog, better known as Xenopus laevis. These robots that barely measures 0.04 inches in width were fused into the stem cells of the frog and incubated.

Stem cells can take the form of various other compartments when needed. Thus this type of living cell makes them the perfect carrier. These cells, when cutting and given specific shape by the supercomputers, provides the ideal vessel to travel through the body post introduction into the system.

The self-healing capacity of the Xenobots makes them useful treatment mechanisms that do not require surgical or drug therapy, thus reducing the chance of side effects, postoperative hassle, etc. among many other issues.

Xenobiotics - A new introduction to the world of Bio-robots

Xenobots cannot be configured under a specific category. They are neither living nor dead beings. They do not conform to the idea of regular robots, nor do they resemble the functionality and structure of living cells. They are a completely different entirety.

Referred to as “Novel Living robots,” by one of the leading research fellow and creator of Xenobots at University of Vernon, Xenobots is more of a programmable living robot that functions based on the specific requirement of the living body.

Created out of thousand to five thousand stem cells, these nanobots have elementary shapes. They travel in a circular or linear direction based on the distance being covered, and the route went.

Some of these Xenobots can have claws or feet in case they need to claw or hold on to the cellular surface in certain specific circumstances. These bio machines survive in the living body with the help of the cellular energy garnered from the multiple cells in the unit.

Application of Xenobots in the present-day world

- In oceanography - one of the biggest concerns today is the extent of debris deposited into the ocean. The biodiversity of marine life has been rapidly degenerating, creating a massive ecological imbalance. Xenobots can help in clearing out the trash faster than mechanical, human intervention. It can be specifically useful in handling areas that are impossible to reach for humans.

- Microplastic destruction - The alarming amount of plastics being used and discarded today is equivalent to the weight of a small planet in itself. The biggest problem with plastic is that they do not degrade or decompose quickly and have a shelf life of decades. These microplastics are not just as hazardous as toxic waste but also causes degeneration and mutation in various living beings. Xenobots can be used in decomposing and break down plastics and thus eradicating them at a faster pace than the average expectancy.

- As a drug delivery system - Since Xenobots can travel independently with or without instruction from an external supercomputer; they can be used for faster drug delivery systems. Oral drug delivery or vascular blood delivery can cause the breakdown of the compound on the route of the specific location and thus decrease its potency. However, Xenobots can be used to carry the mixture to the particular area and thus keeping its potency quotient undisturbed until it reaches its destination. This also reduces toxic waste remnants.

- Target specific cellular destruction - One of the controversial yet effective ideas proposed for the usage of Xenobots is in the treatment of particular ailments. Primarily, in the case of malignancy and other such situations, Xenobots can be used to destroy a specific area of carcinogenic tissues instead of using complicated surgical intervention. Many times reaching the target area with radiation or surgery is not possible. Still, if Supercomputers direct Xenobots to those specific zones, they can destroy the unwanted cells without harming the healthy tissues.

Xenobots are perhaps the greatest creation of the modern world after computers came into existence. The groundbreaking invention has the potential to change every aspect of the world around us. Constant research and study, along with experimental trials, have already proven its wide application range. 

However, the extent of its ability to do better for humankind instead of the bad is still an open-ended discussion. The usage of nanobots in weaponry and illegal mass destruction is also viable unless its usage and development are heavily assessed and controlled by most of the highest authorities worldwide. 

Author: Frank Taylor