MIT engineers create paper-thin swimming robot powered by living muscle cells

MIT's 4× Speed Light-Powered Muscle Robot

On October 23, 2026, MIT's creation swims on living muscle that flaps with a flash of light. Built on a gel frame stick-sized, robot has two fins lined with muscle cells thinner than a human hair. When a laser illuminates one fin, the genetically engineered muscle contracts, flapping the fin and propelling the robot forward. By switching light between fins and adjusting pulse frequency, the team can steer the robot and vary its speed. In a maze test, bot swam at about four times its body length per minute, pace of a cow shark. Ritu Raman says the thin design could let soft robots explore fragile waters that hard machines can't touch.