A team of researchers from Northwestern University in the United States has designed a tiny robot crab, small enough to stand on the edge of a coin.
Micro-robot
Presented as ” the smallest remote-controlled walking robot ever created “, this millimeter-sized device relies on innovative engineering, allowing it to walk, crawl, turn, jump and even bend. To obtain such flexibility of movement, the researchers used a shape-memory alloy: taking on a different shape when heated, the material returns to its initial configuration when it cools and a thin film of glass forms.
By using a laser beam to heat specific parts of the robot, it is possible to synchronize the actuation of its legs to perform a specific action (the direction of the laser scan determining the direction of its movements).
« Due to the tiny size of these structures, the cooling time is extremely short. “, Explain John Rogerslead author of the new study, published in the journal Science Robotics.
Capable of moving at an average speed of half its length per second, the robot is made using a flexible process inspired by children’s pop-up books. The flat precursors of his pieces are glued to a slightly stretched piece of rubber, allowing them to take on three-dimensional shapes when the latter relaxes.
A wide range of potential applications
« With these assembly techniques and this type of materials, we can build walking robots of almost any size or shape in three dimensions. “, highlighted Rogers. « But the students felt inspired and amused by the sideways crawling movements of the little crabs. It was a creative whim. »
If the creation of the tiny robot proved playful, the potential applications of such devices, capable of evolving and performing complex actions in narrow spaces, might not be more serious.
« You might imagine micro-robots acting as agents to repair or assemble small structures or machinery in industry or as surgical assistants to unclog arteries, stop internal bleeding or remove cancerous tumors, all in the framework of minimally invasive procedures », concludes Rogers.
