Robots carrying a full baby to term starting with lambs in 2017
Let’s look at the future science of robots/artificial wombs and how, theoretically, a robot (or robotic system) could carry a baby to full term:
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- Artificial Womb Basics (Ectogenesis)
• Current research (like the biobag at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 2017) has shown it’s possible to support premature lambs in a fluid-filled bag connected to a machine that mimics a placenta.
• The goal is to replace the biological womb environment: providing oxygen, nutrients, waste removal, protection, and hormonal regulation.
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- How Robots Could Be Involved
A “pregnancy robot” wouldn’t be a humanoid android with a belly—it would likely be a highly engineered biocapsule, with robotic and AI systems managing everything:
• Amniotic Environment Simulation
• A sterile, fluid-filled chamber where the fetus floats.
• Constant monitoring of temperature, pressure, oxygen levels, and amniotic fluid chemistry.
• Robots could replenish fluid, filter waste, and detect infection in real time.
• Placenta/umbilical cord substitute
• A robotic pump-and-filter system acting like a placenta: exchanging oxygen, glucose, amino acids, and hormones.
• Tiny sensors along the artificial cord could track nutrient delivery second by second.
• Hormonal and developmental cues
• Pregnancy isn’t just “feeding the baby”—the mother’s body signals the fetus when to grow lungs, when to strengthen bones, when to prepare for birth.
• A robotic system could deliver artificial hormone pulses (e.g., cortisol, estrogen, progesterone) based on fetal development milestones.
• AI Oversight
• Machine learning would be essential—constantly comparing the baby’s vital signs to massive databases of normal fetal development.
• AI could adjust oxygen flow, nutrient balance, or intervene if the fetus shows distress.
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- From Early to Full-Term
• First trimester is still the hardest challenge: implantation and placental development are extremely complex. Most current visions of artificial wombs start at around 20–24 weeks (age of viability).
• Mid-to-late pregnancy is more feasible: once the basic organs exist, a robotic system could sustain and grow them.
• Birth itself would be managed by draining the chamber, detaching the artificial umbilical cord, and providing immediate respiratory transition support.
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- Ethical and Social Implications
• Premature infants: The first real-world use will likely be keeping micro-preemies alive.
• Infertility & surrogacy: In the future, couples might choose robotic gestation instead of a human surrogate.
• Redefinition of motherhood/parenthood: Raises huge cultural, legal, and religious questions.
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- The Far Future Vision
Imagine a robotic womb nursery:
• Rows of transparent pods, each with a baby floating inside.
• Caretaker robots monitor and adjust every detail.
• Parents “visit” their child through VR/AR interfaces, talking and singing while the fetus hears their voices.
• AI helps determine the exact time for “birth,” and the baby is safely transitioned to independent breathing and feeding.
⸻ Kent Norton 𝔎𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔑𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔬𝔫 𝔨𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔯𝔢 Golden Eagle Consulting cooperating with 907 labs research into the future for about 20 minutes
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