Team:NAWI Graz/Hardware

Go to Top

• Arena
• Bioreactor
• Robot
• Control System
• Temperature Module
• Temperature Plasmid
• pH Interaction Module
• pH Plasmid
• Fluorescence Measurement Chamber

We’ve set up a remarkable contraption connecting bacterial metabolism to robot control in a closed feedback loop. The individual components are highly modular. The hardware was tested on E. coli bacteria which respond to heat shock with the expression of fluorescent proteins. We have also shown that the system is suitable for bacteria that respond to changes in pH and it is conceivable to apply a similar construction for a variety of other bacteria-technology interfaces. Modules include the arena, the bioreactor, the robot, the control system, the temperature interaction module, the temperature sensitive bacteria, the pH interaction module, the pH sensitive microorganism and the fluorescence measurement chamber. The arena represents the robot's playground, it is in itself highly modular and can even take the form of a maze. The bioreactor is the part of our system that takes care of the microorganisms by providing the ideal living conditions. The main protagonist of our project is a little robot named Thymio II. He takes stimuli from his environment, passes them on to the bacterial culture and in turn reacts to the bacterial response. The control system ensures that all components are harmonizing. The temperature interaction module represents the communication tool for the technical part with the microbiological part. The temperature plasmid represents the communication tool for the microorganism with our technical components. The pH interaction module represents another, more sophisticated communication tool for the technical part with the microbiological part. The pH plasmid represents another, more sophisticated communication tool for the microorganism with our technical components. The fluorescence measuring chamber digitizes the reaction of the bacteria to the technical information input.