A pioneering research institute that introduced the computer world to the mouse, hypertext and networks is now setting its sights a bit lower. A team of engineers at SRI International, a nonprofit contract research and development lab in Menlo Park, Calif., has harnessed simple, magnetically levitated microbots to build structures and perform other sophisticated tasks at small size scales.

Many such floating microbots could be made to work in concert, something like mechanical ant colonies, to construct objects and carry out many other useful applications, says Ron Pelrine, chief scientist at SRI's Robotics, Engineering Research and Development Division. He suggests, for example, that they would be suited for micro-assembly jobs in plants that fabricate micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) chips or rapid prototyping of novel structures with embedded electronics such as sensors and portable diagnostic devices. They might also do small-scale tasks in biological and medical fields such as cell printing or forming complex tissue-growth media.

The current laboratory demo devices range from a 0.1 to one centimeter across—about the size of a pinhead to somewhat smaller than the diameter of a AAA battery—tiny enough to carry lightweight objects (such as short lengths of carbon fiber) by attaching them temporarily to manipulator arms using only the feeble surface tension of water droplets.

Despite their petite size and basic simplicity, operation of the precision-controlled devices is fast and highly repeatable, characteristics that SRI researchers demonstrate in the video below. The air hockey puck–like devices can move as much as 217 body lengths a second and offer potential motion repeatability to within an estimated 40 nanometers, roughly the diameter of a virus.

The next video exhibits the technology's further potential for use in future microscale factories: The magnetic mechanisms are shown scooping up objects onto mini forklifts, actuating syringes and executing rudimentary electric arc–cutting tasks. Another video segment displays the bots moving across surfaces held at steep angles and upside-down as well.

A novel path to microbotics
Microbot research has been growing worldwide in recent years because of the new availability of the necessary parts—minuscule motors, actuators, batteries and so forth, according to Pelrine, who notes, "A lot of the recent work was done by hobbyists, and they've demonstrated more and more capabilities."

5 Comments

1. 1. Scienceangela 09:00 AM 10/22/11

   I am so glad that I am studying Artificial Intelligence.

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2. 2. robert schmidt 10:34 AM 10/22/11

   Looks like we are getting to the "robotic singularity" in which robots are able to make robots without human intervention. Self-replicating machines.

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3. 3. sevens 11:23 PM 10/22/11

   This is what we need to conquer space ala Isaac Asimov.
   Imagine a network of nano sized solar collectors held together with nothing but electromagnetism, like a worm it will be propelled through space by the electromagnetic forces of the sun or galaxy, this net could power a ship, cover huge areas of space, collect dust, clear asteroids, build mega-habitats.
   With this we can think big from the molecule level up.

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4. 4. Green≲Wave 09:44 AM 10/23/11

   As an 8 year old, I watched printing presses operate continuously for hours with the occasional chaotic events of paper flying all over the place as the rest of the machine did what it was supposed to be doing. There were a lot of diconnected sequences that would have their own probabilities of failing. Certainly imagining these robots working together systematically is no longer an option. Here they are! If you have an idealization for something that will reduce rent visit GWP. we don't just talk about dreams we are able to actualize a lot of cool stuff with //////. Profound Absolute Control of position with syncopation is a time honored grail that has been going on for millions of years. I find it incredibly amazing for instance, that water under any+all conditions always knows what to do. Yes, we can boil it, freeze it, spray it, wave it, polish it, clean it, filter it, use it, require it, love it. Water, Magnetism, Fire, Vacuum, It's all good..... and they all interact with each other basically at the same really, real time instantaneous reactions to each other.
   
   If you/I had a Hammer, you/I would_____________________ .
   
   Fill that in, in your mind and see if you can build on it with 2 other people. the strongest working group size on the planet. These Robotic super high tech precise tools are radically available and the resulting sorted and aggregated parts stream that we have in our re-purposing stream are our urban gold mines in the USA. It looks like these robots can be scaled to the size of multiple car tire rims, we have enormous sources of friction like rolling a car down a hill to generate enough magnetism to really effectuate incredible structures here and in Space. Get Familial with each other already for goodness sakes the rest of the world knows how to do that with ease.
   
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5. 5. bucketofsquid 04:15 PM 10/28/11

   Now that they made them what are they good for? Have them build a device or something useful.

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