arXiv abstract link

Another Jetsons prediction rings true? Researchers have tested a capsule robot that collects microbes from the intestinal lining, an early step toward sampling hard-to-reach regions of the gut.

A key challenge in multimodal microrobots is to reduce structural redundancy while maintaining multiple locomotion and transition functions under a strict mass budget. We designed a four-winged triphibious robot that demonstrated efficient multimodal locomotion and lightweight design. The robot, with a length of 35 mm and a weight of 140 mg, is shown in Fig. 1a alongside a U.S. quarter commemorative coin. The external power supply, control electronics, and communication modules are not included in this mass, as the robot is currently operated in a tethered configuration. The primary components of the robot include an H-shaped frame, which is driven by artificial muscles (Fig. 1b). The flapping wing flight features a transmission and electromagnetic drive. Figure 2a summarizes the targeted multimodal capabilities. Red arrows indicate experimentally demonstrated motions, whereas gray dashed arrows indicate conceptual transitions. The demonstrations are representative functional tests rather than a single continuous autonomous mission. The robot demonstrates takeoff, terrestrial crawling, water-surface gliding, and water-surface-to-underwater transition. However, the system operates in an open-loop manner, which makes precise and stable touchdown particularly challenging. By driving a morphing frame with artificial muscles (Fig. 2b and Supplementary Movie S1), this robot can crawl on level ground, glide on the water...

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From Stiff to Soft in a Snap: Magnetic Jamming Opens New Frontiers for Microrobotics. Credit: MPI-IS Could tiny magnetic objects, that rapidly clump together and instantly fall apart again, one day perform delicate procedures inside the human body? A new study from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart and at ETH Zurich introduces a wireless method to stiffen and relax small structures using magnetic fields, without wires, pumps, or physical contact.

Claire chatted to Ali K. Hoshiar from University of Essex about how microrobots move and work together. Ali Hoshiar is a Senior Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Essex and Director of the Robotics for Under Millimetre Innovation (RUMI) Lab. He leads the EPSRC-funded ‘In-Target’ project and was awarded the university’s Best Interdisciplinary Research Award. His research focuses on microrobotics, soft robotics, and data-driven mechatronic systems for medical and agri-tech applications.

A dozen robots, each smaller than a grain of sand, sit on your fingertip. These are smartlets, tiny marvels from Chemnitz University of Technology that pack a lot of tech into their millimeter sized bodies. Developed by a team led by Prof. Oliver G. Schmidt, these water robots move, sense and talk to each other in water, and could one day monitor lakes or swim through our bodies for medical diagnostics.

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) align and move along Earth’s magnetic field. Insights into the origins and mechanisms of MTB are shaping innovations in everything from cancer therapy to microrobotics.