New semi-autonomous microscopic robots have been developed at Duke University that are so small, they can assemble on the head of a pin.

Each micro-robot is measured in microns (millionths of a metre) and form a shape that resembles a spatula. They are 100 times smaller and weigh less than any previous design.

The benefit of such tiny robots, formally known as microelectromechanical system (MEMS) micro-robots, is that they can perform tasks in the tiniest of spaces. This opens up new possibilities in areas such as medicine and computing where modern advances are made on a microscopic level.

“It is marvellous to be able to do assembly and control at this fine a resolution with such very, very tiny things,” said Bruce Donald, professor of computer science and biochemistry at Duke University.

“Our work constitutes the first implementation of an untethered, multi micro-robotic system,” Donald’s team said in its report.

The micro-robots have dimensions of 60 µm by 250 µm by 10 µm and are globally controllable. Without control tethers getting in the way, their movements can be more flexible. In the videos from Dartmouth, you can see the micro-robots have a turning capability as well as forward motion.

The MEMS bots have a turning error under 3.7°/mm and can achieve speeds of 200 µm/sec with an average step size of 12 nm.

Sources:
Dartmouth report and multimedia
Vnunet.com