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WASHINGTON – Swiss scientists have developed a small, flexible, nature-inspired robot that can swim in liquids and deliver medicine to diseased tissue one day.
The study published Friday in the journal Science Advances describes the flexible and biocompatible device "as a living microorganism", wriggling in fluids that can be dense, viscous or moving at high speed.
Selman Sakar, the senior author of the study and an adjunct professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, told Xinhua that the prototypes were about one millimeter in length, but that 39 They could be reduced with the help of an origami-based folding method.
The miniaturized robot can traverse narrow blood vessels and complex systems without compromising on speed or maneuverability, without losing control of the direction of travel.
According to the study, deformations can be "programmed" in advance without sensors or actuators, thus allowing the robot to automatically turn into the most efficient form.
The intelligent device is composed of nano-composites of hydrogel and the magnetic nanoparticles contained in the hydrogel can be controlled by an electromagnetic field. We can also let the cavities navigate by circulating the fluid.
"Nature has developed a multitude of microorganisms that change shape as their environmental conditions change," said Bradley Nelson, co-author of the article and professor of robotics and intelligent systems at the University of Ottawa. ETH Zurich. "This basic principle inspired our design of microbots."
The device is cost effective and researchers are working to improve its performance through complex fluids like those found in the human body.
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