Cyborg Animal

High adaptability, long endurance

Integrates biological and electromechanical systems to leverage innate locomotion for high adaptability and extended endurance.

Ma, Yue · Zhang, Chuang · Fei Nie, Li · Zhang, Qi · Zhang, Yiwei · Lianchao, Yang · Liu, Lianqing

Cyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.) 2026

Advantages

Leverages innate locomotion

Cyborg animals directly use the organism's own locomotion system, avoiding the need to design complex mechanical actuators from scratch, thereby achieving higher adaptability and extended endurance.

Natural intelligence

Compared to purely mechanical robots, cyborg animals retain the organism's natural intelligence and sensory capabilities, enabling more flexible responses to complex and unstructured environments.

Enables closed-loop control

Advances in electronic backpack design and navigation control algorithms enable closed-loop control, supporting practical applications such as swarm robotics, environmental exploration, and human-machine interaction.

Applications

• Brain-computer interfaces：Uses brain-computer interfaces to read animal intent for more natural and precise movement control.
• Swarm robotics：Enables multiple cyborg animals to work as a swarm for cooperative sensing or transport tasks.
• Environmental exploration：Uses animals' terrain adaptability to access areas difficult for humans or robots to explore.
• Human-machine interaction：Establishes two-way communication between humans and animals via neural stimulation or brain-computer interfaces for assistance or interaction research.