Northwestern University researchers have developed the world’s tiniest remote-controlled walking robot. It’s shaped like a peekytoe crab and is only half a millimeter broad, fitting comfortably on the edge of a penny.
Walking, crawling, bending, twisting, and even jumping are all possible for the small bot. It can walk at a speed of half its body length per second, according to principal researcher Yonggang Huang.
The robot’s movement is undoubtedly the most exciting aspect. Researchers used a shape-memory alloy material that changes shape when heated instead of small circuits.
They may rapidly heat certain areas of the bot to modify its shape using a precision laser. A thin glass layer helps the parts cool down and return to their original shape.
Repeat until you have a remote-controlled robot that can move without the use of hydraulics or electricity.
“The rate of cooling is very fast because these structures are so tiny,” said John Rogers, a materials scientist at Northwestern University. The expert went on to say that shrinking the robots’ size helps them to move faster.
There are a plethora of possible applications.
“You might imagine micro-robots as agents to repair or assemble small structures or machines in industry or as surgical assistants to clear clogged arteries, to stop internal bleeding or to eliminate cancerous tumors – all in minimally invasive procedures,” Rogers said.
The research is now at the experimental stage, but that is expected to alter when more progress is achieved. The findings were published in the journal Science Robotics by the researchers.
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