CAN DEVICES BE AUTONOMOUS? – SELF SUSTAINING INTELLIGENT MICROSYSTEMS

CAN DEVICES BE AUTONOMOUS? – SELF SUSTAINING INTELLIGENT MICROSYSTEMS

A group of researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, brought forth an electronic microsystem, which intelligently responds to information inputs without any external energy input. It makes it similar to a self-autonomous living organism. This microsystem is constructing from a new type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals. It also contains a device that can generate electricity from the environment.

This research was published on June 7, 2021, in the journal Nature Communications. It was led by Jun Yao, an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering (ECE), who was also working in  biomedical engineering. Derek R. Lovley, his collaborator and a Distinguished Professor in Microbiology, led the research with him. The two key components of this microsystem are composed of   “green” electronic material that is renewably produced from microbes. It does not produce e-waste.


The research also throws light on the future of green electronics utilizing sustainable biomaterials. It is more compatible with the human body and different environments. The research is being funded by the U.S Army  Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory.

“It’s an exciting start to explore the feasibility of incorporating ‘living’ features in electronics. I’m looking forward to further evolved versions” said Tianda Fu, the lead author, and a graduate student in Yao’s group.

The team had earlier discovered an electricity generation mechanism from the ambient environment/humidity using a protein-nanowire-based air Generator(“Air-Gen”), that can produce electricity in all environments possible on earth. This was reported in ‘Nature’ in 2020.

Another report in Nature Communications in 2020 by Yao’s lab said that the protein nanowires can be used to construct ‘memristors’ – an electronic device which can perform actions like brain computation, and work with ultralow electrical signals similar to the biological signal amplitudes. On the invention, Yao stated,“ Now, we piece the two together. We make microsystems in which the electricity from Air-Gen is used to drive sensors and circuits constructed from protein-nanowire memristors. Now the electronic microsystem can get energy from the environment to support sensing and computation without the need for an external energy source (e.g. battery). It has full energy self-sustainability and intelligence, just like the self-autonomy in a living organism.”

Protein nanowire memristor used for making electronic microsystem.
Protein nanowires (light green) harvested from Geobacter (background) are sandwiched between electrodes (gold) to form bioelectronic sensor for detection of biomolecules (red). Credit: UMass Amherst/Yao lab

Other merits include the use of environmentally friendly biomaterial – protein nanowires obtained from bacteria. Geobacter, the microbe discovered years ago by Lovley, formed the foundation of Air-Gen, the creation of electricity from humidity, and the development of memristors.

Albena Ivanisevic, the biotronics program manager at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory says, “The work demonstrates that one can fabricate a self-sustained intelligent microsystem. The team from UMass has demonstrated the use of artificial neurons in computation. It is particularly exciting that the protein nanowire memristors show stability in the aqueous environment and are amenable to further functionalization. Additional functionalization not only promises to increase their stability but also expands their utility for sensor and novel communication modalities of importance to the Army.

“So, from both function and material, we are making an electronic system more bio-alike or living-alike,” says Yao.

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