Just half a millimeter in size, it can run, bend, twist, turn and even jump: Developed by engineers at Northwestern University in the US, this remarkable nanorobot is shaped like a tiny crab. The scientists are also working on micromachines modeled after other animals — worms, crickets, beetles.
While the tiny robot crawling over the edge of a coin in the video is still a proof of concept, the researchers believe their technology could significantly advance the field of microrobotics. The scientists had already created a winged microchip last year — krone.at reported — which was the smallest flying structure ever created by human hands.
Possible use in industry and surgery
The experiment was led by bioelectronics pioneer John Rogers. He says: “Robotics is an exciting area of research and the development of microrobots is an interesting topic for academic research.” Microrobots can be seen as agents who repair or assemble small structures or machinery in industry, or as surgical assistants to clear clogged arteries, stop internal bleeding or eliminate cancerous tumors – in minimally invasive procedures.
Yonggang Huang, who led the theoretical work: “Our technology enables a variety of controlled modalities of movement and can move at an average speed of half a body length per second. That is very difficult to achieve for ground robots on such a small scale.”
Remote control via laser scanning beam
The little scratching robot is smaller than a flea and is not powered by complex hardware, hydraulics or electricity. Instead, Rogers explains that his strength lies in the elasticity of his body. To build the mini machine, the researchers used a shape-memory alloy that returns to its “remembered” shape when heated.
To get the nanobot moving, the researchers used a scanning laser beam that the robot can quickly heat on different parts of its body. A thin layer of glass gives the relevant part of the construction its shape again during cooling. When the robot moves from one stage to another – from the distorted to the remembered form and back again – it can move.
Rogers explains that not only does the laser remotely control the robot to activate it, but the laser scanning direction also determines the robot’s direction of travel. For example, when scanning from left to right, the robot moves from right to left. Rogers: “Because these structures are so small, the cooling rate is very high. By making these robots smaller, they can actually run faster.”
Special mounting method required
To make such a small machine, Rogers and Huang resorted to a technique they pioneered eight years ago: a pop-up montage method inspired by a pop-up book for children. The team started by making flat screen precursors for the scratching robot. Then they glued the precursors to a slightly stretched rubber base.
When the stretched substrate is relaxed, a buckling process occurs, causing the crab to “pop open”. In theory, other robot variants from the animal kingdom would also be conceivable with this method. But his students would have preferred a nanobone crab, Rogers says. “The students were inspired and amused by the side crawling movements of small crabs. It was a creative whim.” The results were published in the journal Science Robotics.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
