An Evidence-Grounded Multi-Agent System for High-Level Bio-Robot Design
Abstract
In this paper, a bio-robot is an engineered living or biohybrid system in which living cells perform one or more core functions, such as sensing, information processing, actuation or output. We focus on systems whose cell-based functions are programmed by genetic circuits; physical movement is optional. Designing such a system requires translating application requirements into sensing, logic or memory, output, assembly, host and containment modules, while grounding each choice in traceable parts and evidence. We present micro_biorobot_agent, an offline multi-agent system built on Qwen3.5-27B. The system combines requirement analysis, module-specific retrieval, candidate assembly, conflict checking, local repair, independent review and validation over an integrated library of 23,762 records covering biological parts, measured combinations, literature-supported relationships and actuation evidence. Deterministic output checks align the final report with the retrieved part set and correct false gaps, unsupported part mentions and source-tracking errors. On two author-developed evaluation sets of 50 queries each, the system obtains mean overall scores of 7.35 and 8.04, the highest among the seven evaluated systems; on Scenario Design it exceeds the runner-up by 2.23 points. A 50-query paired ablation shows that the source-tracking check reduces false-gap incidents from 15 to 3, an 80% reduction, and increases source accuracy by 0.75 points. This paper reports the Qwen3.5-based v1 system and evaluates high-level design reports rather than experimentally validated circuits.
Figures & tables
| stage | components | purpose |
|---|---|---|
| requirements | analysis agents and supervisor | identify the goal, constraints and required modules |
| evidence search | scenario and evidence agents | gather design patterns, evidence and safety needs |
| part retrieval | module-specific retrieval agent | find candidate parts for each required module |
| design | design agents | assemble several internally consistent candidates |
| review and repair | conflict checker, repair planner and three review agents | check interfaces, biological mechanisms and evidence; revise affected modules |
| validation | seven rule-based validators | check evidence, completeness, compatibility, feasibility, safety, unsupported claims and output format |
| record type | count | DNA sequence | DOI | source / role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| curated records | 748 | — | 737 | standard parts and design records |
| measured promoter–RBS pairs | 12,480 | — | all | Kosuri 2013 expression measurements |
| literature relationships | 5,235 | — | all | relationships supported by 865 unique DOIs |
| iGEM parts | 4,000 | all | — | Registry parts with DNA sequences |
| fluorescent-protein records | 1,040 | 301 | 1,020 | FPbase proteins; verified DNA coding sequences where available |
| Kosuri parts | 221 | all | all | promoters and RBSs measured on one scale |
| system | workflow | key mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| rag_only | none (no LLM) | retrieval list + template synthesis |
| full_agent | single agent | keyword-based ranking one LLM answer |
| multi_agent | multi-pass | query rewrite + combined search results |
| robot_design | two-layer | physical-control routing + genetic circuit |
| micro_biorobot | shared multi-agent | agents + rules + independent review + validation |
| role | matching information | module |
|---|---|---|
| metal sensor | input part + metal cue (Hg/As/Cd/Cu) | sensing |
| metabolic sensor | input part + metabolite cue (lactate/pH) | sensing |
| generic sensor | input part without a logic function | sensing |
| recombinase memory | recombinase type or integrase name | logic/memory |
| logic gate | NOT/AND/OR/logic or CRISPR type | logic/memory |
| quorum-sensing communication | quorum-sensing function or system name | communication |
| system | overall | complete | compat. | detail | source acc. | clarity | false gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro_biorobot | 7.35 | 7.32 | 6.59 | 6.08 | 8.11 | 7.89 | 8 |
| GPT-5.5+LS+RAG | 6.39 | 6.44 | 5.26 | 4.56 | 8.64 | 8.07 | 0 |
| robot_design | 6.33 | 6.24 | 5.73 | 5.87 | 7.52 | 6.75 | 6 |
| full_agent | 6.11 | 5.82 | 5.08 | 5.11 | 7.80 | 6.91 | 6 |
| GPT-5.5+LS | 5.79 | 5.90 | 4.85 | 3.36 | 8.52 | 7.82 | 1 |
| multi_agent | 5.38 | 5.02 | 4.57 | 4.15 | 7.46 | 6.63 | 6 |
| system | overall | complete | compat. | detail | source acc. | clarity | false gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro_biorobot | 8.04 | 8.11 | 7.78 | 7.51 | 8.44 | 8.59 | 2 |
| GPT-5.5+LS+RAG | 5.81 | 6.05 | 4.41 | 3.97 | 8.46 | 7.56 | 1 |
| robot_design | 5.53 | 5.55 | 5.09 | 4.90 | 7.26 | 6.17 | 15 |
| GPT-5.5+LS | 5.50 | 5.79 | 4.24 | 3.08 | 8.47 | 7.45 | 0 |
| full_agent | 5.40 | 5.01 | 4.61 | 4.44 | 7.98 | 6.07 | 5 |
| multi_agent | 4.29 | 3.88 | 3.54 | 2.92 | 7.62 | 5.65 | 3 |
| system | total | task | decomp. | scenario | evidence | feasib. | safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| micro_biorobot | 8.37 | 1.80 | 1.69 | 1.54 | 1.10 | 1.35 | 0.89 |
| GPT-5.5+LS | 7.54 | 1.66 | 1.41 | 1.21 | 1.30 | 1.05 | 0.90 |
| GPT-5.5+LS+RAG | 7.47 | 1.63 | 1.42 | 1.15 | 1.30 | 1.08 | 0.89 |
| full_agent | 7.43 | 1.64 | 1.41 | 1.40 | 0.88 | 1.12 | 0.99 |
| robot_design | 7.35 | 1.76 | 1.43 | 1.32 | 0.87 | 1.17 | 0.80 |
| multi_agent | 7.09 | 1.69 | 1.34 | 1.28 | 0.66 | 1.12 | 0.98 |
| source acc. | overall | compat. | complete | detail | clarity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (after before) | +0.75 | +0.32 | +0.31 | +0.11 | +0.03 | +0.02 |
| paired overall: 32 win / 14 loss / 4 tie; target effect: 18 corrected / 32 unchanged / 0 worsened | ||||||
| false-gap incidents: 15 3 ( ) | ||||||
| ablation | overall | complete | source acc. | false gaps | worse/50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| module completion | 43 | ||||
| review agents | 38 | ||||
| repair step | 30 | ||||
| validation checks | 34 | ||||
| all three checks | 28 | ||||
| unsupported-part labelling | 20 |
Robotics
Robotics studies the design and control of machines that perceive, move, and act in physical environments.
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