The study of biological organisms and their templates as inspiration for technology of microbiorobots is not the first of its kind. We have burdock burrs to thank for the invention of Velcro. Gecko feet have also served as a base for robots that can scale vertical glass surfaces. There is always a bridge between any idea and a final product, which may encompass research, development, and manufacturing. For some ideas, like Velcro, the crossing of this path may be short and direct. This bridge for microbiorobotics is neither short nor direct, as our base understanding of microbiorobots and their biological equivalents is still expanding. This is not to say that there have not been glimpses of successful products, as there are already significant demonstrations of the control of microbiorobotics. In the sense of the big picture of microbiorobotics, the field is still very much in its infancy. How and in what direction will the research and development of microbiorobotics mature and head?

Microbiorobotics may be focused on microscale systems, but the field draws from many sciences, making it a truly hybrid discipline without bias for any particular respect. The groundwork of physics explains the propulsive methods utilized by organisms and transform this understanding to mathematical models; research in biology characterizes organisms, lending comprehensive understanding of nature's work; engineering develops and tests systems with the utilization and adaptation of the current state of understanding. However, these roles are not defining and are often blended together. Regardless, these fields are the driving forces for this subject, and progress made in any of these fields will define the development of microbiorobotics.

In a boarder sense, you can divide the current state of microbiorobotics into two states: the scientific perspective and the engineering perspective. The fundamental scientific state of microbiorobotics has so far given insight into understanding the physics behind the propulsive methods using flagella and cilia and the behavior of swimming bacteria. Engineering can be said to have contributed empirical data of actual microbiorobotics, such as bacteria in microassembly tasks or the swimming and control of magnetotactic Tetrahymena. In a traditional sense, science creates knowledge, while engineers apply these fundamentals. In any field, there is naturally some overlap between the two. When it comes to the field of microbiorobotics, however, the overlap can be said to be larger than usual. Biomimicry does not manifest in microbiorobotics as a purely mechanical, synthetic analog; microbiorobotics often utilize cell parts or entire cells themselves, as current technology limits the scale of power systems, and as a result, self-contained systems are quite large compared to cells. Because the biomimetic nature of microbiorobotics is hybrid in that both cell and synthetic components are used, a somewhat iterative process is born, such that the work of fundamentals gives rise to the applications or modification of microbiorobotics, which is then again subjected to study such as modeling and characterization.

Robots, in the same sense as computers, have been predicted as being the next revolution in human living. Robots initially served as machines to perform tasks, but since then, they have become specialized and sophisticated. Beyond this, the next evolution in robotics may seem like a scene from a science fiction movie, but personal robotics could very well be the next personal computing. Robot house assistants and robot assault soldiers may become the norm. Of course, in the future, there will be a place for microbiorobotics, whether it is personal medicine, minimally invasive surgery, or microassembly. Between this future and today, what can we expect from microbiorobotics?

Quickly recounting the current state of experimental microbiorobotics, successful control of microorganisms has been achieved through various taxes, and some cells have been modified to exhibit a response to specific types of stimuli. New biological templates and improved adaptation methods may be utilized to enable microbiorobots to carry a payload, whether it is a direct attachment or some variation of a carriage. Multiple types of stimuli may be successfully employed for control, as some environments may be sensitive to certain inputs. Enhanced swarm control may be utilized for precise, high-resolution control of a payload or any other microscale task. These new developments may be achieved through improved fabrication techniques, genetic modification of cells, and/or improved input controls. It is also equally important to mention that advances in microscopy and other investigative tools will improve progress in microbiorobotics, as characterization on a microscale and nanoscale is paramount to understanding and improving microrobotic components and systems.

As science and engineering continue to drive the field of microbiorobotics, new research will give us a better understanding of the fundamentals of organisms, improved mathematical models, and sophisticated experiments. There is no doubt that there will be exciting commercial use of microbiorobotics in the near future.