Edible robots and robotic food — edible systems that perceive, process and act upon stimulation — could open a new range of opportunities in health care, environmental management and the promotion of healthier eating habits. For example, they could enable precise drug delivery and in vivo health monitoring, deliver autonomously targeted nutrition in emergency situations, reduce waste in farming, facilitate wild animal vaccination and produce novel gastronomical experiences. Here, we take a robot designer perspective to identify edible materials that could serve as functional components of edible robots and robotic food, such as bodies, actuators, sensors, and computational components and energy sources, describe recent examples of integration, and discuss the open challenges in the field.

可食用机器人和机器人食品——能够感知、处理并根据刺激采取行动的可食用系统——可以在医疗保健、环境管理和促进更健康的饮食习惯方面开辟一系列新的机会。例如，它们可以实现精确的药物输送和体内健康监测、在紧急情况下自主提供有针对性的营养、减少农业浪费、促进野生动物疫苗接种并产生新颖的美食体验。在这里，我们从机器人设计师的角度来识别可作为可食用机器人和机器人食物的功能组件的可食用材料，例如主体、执行器、传感器以及计算组件和能源，描述最近的集成示例，并讨论开放的该领域的挑战。