Analog
Lifer
The world's smallest untethered, controllable robot has been unveiled at half the length of the period at the end of this sentence.
"It's tens of times smaller in length, and thousands of times smaller in mass than previous untethered microrobots that are controllable," says Bruce Donald of Dartmouth College. "When we say 'controllable,' it means it's like a car; you can steer it anywhere on a flat surface, and drive it wherever you want to go. It doesn't drive on wheels, but crawls like a silicon inchworm, making tens of thousands of 10-nanometer steps every second. It turns by putting a silicon 'foot' out and pivoting like a motorcyclist skidding around a tight turn."
Researchers led by Donald and Edward J. Foley Jr. have reported their creation in a paper that will be presented at the 12th International Symposium of Robotics Research in October in San Francisco. A longer, more detailed paper will also appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.
Future applications for micro-electromechanical systems such as this include inspecting and repairing integrated circuits and manipulating cells or tissues.
http://www.betterhumans.com/News/4609/Default.aspx
"It's tens of times smaller in length, and thousands of times smaller in mass than previous untethered microrobots that are controllable," says Bruce Donald of Dartmouth College. "When we say 'controllable,' it means it's like a car; you can steer it anywhere on a flat surface, and drive it wherever you want to go. It doesn't drive on wheels, but crawls like a silicon inchworm, making tens of thousands of 10-nanometer steps every second. It turns by putting a silicon 'foot' out and pivoting like a motorcyclist skidding around a tight turn."
Researchers led by Donald and Edward J. Foley Jr. have reported their creation in a paper that will be presented at the 12th International Symposium of Robotics Research in October in San Francisco. A longer, more detailed paper will also appear in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems.
Future applications for micro-electromechanical systems such as this include inspecting and repairing integrated circuits and manipulating cells or tissues.
http://www.betterhumans.com/News/4609/Default.aspx
