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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 24 2020, @12:10PM   Printer-friendly

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The current issue of “Nature Electronics” is reporting on the development of the smallest microelectronic robot in the world, which is driven and controlled by a twin-jet-engine (see Figure 1). The microelectronic robot is 0.8 mm long, 0.8 mm wide and 0.14 mm tall.

To compare: a one cent piece has a diameter of around 16mm. The micro-robot is extremely flexible, motile and equipped with various functionalities. In addition to Chemnitz University of Technology and IFW Dresden, both the Technical University of Dresden and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun are involved in the project.

A special aspect of this project is the availability of an on-board energy system, which enables the highly flexible micro-robot to perform various tasks. The system is also maneuverable in a water solution and can be controlled remotely. In addition, the robot has a light source and a micro-arm, which is able to be powered wirelessly.

The use of this system in the areas of micro-robotics and medical technology could be envisioned for targeted administration of medication or directly diagnosing diseases within an organism.

The results of this research are crucial to the development of microrobotic systems and are therefore selected as cover story of the current issue of Nature Electronics.

[...] Since hydrogen peroxide is currently also a required part of the propulsion fuel, the system in its current configuration cannot be directly used in the human body. This will require further development, which represents the next steps taken by the research team.

Publications:

A flexible microsystem capable of controlled motion and actuation by wireless power transfer by Oliver G. Schmidt et al.: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41928-020-0384-1

Rolled-up nanotech on polymers: from basic perception to self-propelled catalytic microengines by Oliver G. Schmidt et al. [Chem. Soc. Rev. 40, 2109 (2011)]: https://doi.org/10.1039/C0CS00078G


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  • (Score: 2) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Tuesday March 24 2020, @08:49PM

    by Beryllium Sphere (r) (5062) on Tuesday March 24 2020, @08:49PM (#975195)

    It's toxic but the body is designed to deal with it. Put a drop of blood into a glass of peroxide and you'll see the peroxidase enzyme at work. I'd actually have expected it to be more biocompatible than just about any alternative I could think of.

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