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Post: Revolutionary Micro-Robots Inspired by Nature: Pioneering the Smallest and Lightest Autonomous Machines
Revolutionary Micro-Robots Inspired by Nature: Pioneering the Smallest and Lightest Autonomous Machines. Inspired by miniature bugs and water striders, these micro-robots are notable for their minimal moving parts, potentially making them some of the tiniest of their kind. These tiny insect-like robots, developed with a design concept focused on environmental monitoring, surgical applications, and search-and-rescue operations, are reportedly setting records. Mimicking a mini-bug and a water strider, they weigh just eight and 55 milligrams, possibly representing the world’s “smallest, lightest, and fastest fully functional” micro-robots, as per Washington State University.
The robots, introduced by WSU researchers at the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, owe their small size to innovative movement actuators, each under a milligram. The team, led by engineering associate professor Néstor O. Pérez-Arancibia, utilized shape memory alloys to construct these parts. These alloys alter shape when heated and revert to their original forms upon cooling, eliminating the need for conventional motors and bulky moving components. Each actuator, built from two shape memory alloy wires just 1/1000th inch wide, operates by heating and cooling the wires with electrical currents, enabling limb or fin movement up to 40 times per second and lifting over 150 times their weight.
Revolutionary Micro-Robots Inspired by Nature: Pioneering the Smallest and Lightest Autonomous Machines
Conor Trygstad, a mechanical and materials engineering PhD student and the study’s lead author, notes their mechanical robustness and the breakthrough in developing such lightweight actuators, which paves the way for advancements in micro-robotics. However, Trygstad admits that these robots, despite their mechanical prowess, still fall short of their biological counterparts in speed. They move at about six millimeters per second, while a five-milligram ant can travel a meter per second. This limitation partly stems from their design; for instance, the water strider robot flaps its limbs to move on water, unlike its natural counterpart that rows with its legs. Currently reliant on wired power sources, their practical application is limited.
Looking ahead, the team plans to emulate other bug species and develop a new water strider robot capable of moving both on and under water. Incorporating catalytic combustion or small batteries could significantly enhance their functionality and usage scope. If these innovative designs keep evolving, similar micro-robots might soon be deployed for monitoring inaccessible or hazardous locations, assisting in miniature fabrication and surgical procedures, and even contributing to artificial pollination.
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About the Author: Bernard Aybout (Virii8)
