The Future is Already Here: Micro Robots

The Future is Already Here: Micro Robots

צילום: SRI International

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

The future is already here: Micro robots (1 cm in length) operate in groups, build towers and decorate Christmas trees.

Photo: SRI International
Photo: SRI International

It seems that any day now we’ll start seeing packs of miniature robots that manufacure parts for military, civilian, medical and other systems. Micro or mini robots, or tiny robots, work together like ants and have already proved their ability to manufacture and assemble.

If you peek into the lab of Annjoe Wong-Foy, an SRI International researcher, you might think it was taken over by a swarm of ants: Tiny creatures, 1 centimeter-long, crawl around in formation while carrying a tiny coal stick. These tiny beings are constantly busy building a specific structure. A closer look will reveal the truth: They’re insect-like, man-made robots. Wong-Foy built an entire army of them, testing their capability to create electronic equipment, circuit boards, optical devices and even larger structures.

The micro robot have already proven their capabilities: They built a 30-centimeter-tall tower by themselves from tiny coal sticks, in addition to a platform capable of supporting a weight of up to 1 kilogram. They even helped Wong-Foy to decorate his Christmas tree.

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Wong-Foy: “We can cheaply manufacture a large amound of micro robots, which will then manufacture components of electronic systems that are comprised of many tiny elements – ideal work for micro robots. Evnetually micro robots like these will be a commonly available item, useful for any industry.”

The micro robot is a small magnetic surface with metallic, pin-like manipulation arms. When an electric impulse is sent to the robot it causes the magnetic surface to reach and carry out various actions. One software can already operate a thousand micro robots who move in straight lines or in circles. They can be readied for cooperative work as well. In order to build a specific structure three types of robots are used, each performing a specific activity until the assemblying process is complete.

Their main advantage is their very low cost and the ability to program them for a wide variety of actions and applications, such as manufacturing electronic circuit boards. Another potential use is manufacturing optical devices using optic fibers.

Source: MIT Technology Review