Smaller Than a Flea – the Smallest Remote-Controlled Walking Robot Ever

upstart writes:

Smaller Than a Flea - The Smallest Remote-Controlled Walking Robot Ever:

[...] The tiny crabs, which are about half a millimeter wide, can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn, and even leap. Additionally, the scientists created millimeter-sized robots that resemble inchworms, crickets, and beetles. The study is experimental at this time, but the researchers think their technique might move the field closer to developing tiny robots that can carry out useful tasks in small, cramped areas.

"Robotics is an exciting field of research, and the development of microscale robots is a fun topic for academic exploration," said John A. Rogers, who led the experimental work. "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."

"Our technology enables a variety of controlled motion modalities and can walk with an average speed of half its body length per second," added Yonggang Huang, who led the theoretical work. "This is very challenging to achieve at such small scales for terrestrial robots."

[...] The crab, which is smaller than a flea, is not propelled by sophisticated machinery, hydraulics, or electricity. Instead, the elastic resilience of its body is where its power rests. The researchers employed a shape-memory material to build the robot, which transforms to its "remembered" shape when heated. In this case, the scientists heated the robot quickly at several targeted spots all over its body using a scanned laser beam. Upon cooling, a thin layer of glass will elastically restore the distorted shape of the corresponding component of the structure.

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