Microbot Muscles Could Lead to Microscopic Robots

Nov-14-14 Tiny microbots propelled by electrically activated muscles and able to link together could one day lead to electrical circuits able to rewire themselves automatically.

To create the tiny linking bots, the team from the University of Michigan stretched spherical particles (similar to those in paint) until they were long and narrow, about 0.6 microns wide and 3 microns long. They then coated one side of each particle with gold. When placed in salty water, the gold-coated halves of the particles attracted each other—with a higher salt content increasing the attractions. The particles automatically gathered to form chains of overlapping pairs with about 60 particles per chain.

However, exposing the chains to an alternating electric current caused the chains to elongate and begin adding new particles seemingly indefinitely. It is this aspect that intrigues the researchers, since the expansion and contraction of the chains could allow them to work like tiny muscles. And while such muscle-powered robots may be some time away, a more immediate use could see the technology being used to create electronic systems able to rewire themselves quickly and automatically to create new circuits.

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[SCIENCEWORLDREPORT.COM]
[NS.UMICH.EDU]

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