Summary
You might have heard of “nano” robots, which are still (mostly) science fiction, but what about micro-robots? These robots are built at the scale of insects, rather than cells or bacteria, and are likely to play an important role in our lives during the course of this century.
The Big New Thing Is Small
Humans-scale and larger robots tend to get all thepress attention. Think of big bots like Boston Dynamics’AtlasorSpot. That makes sense, because these are the robots that we find most interesting, and perhaps most intimidating.
However, insect-scale robots (more or less) promise to be more useful and have a much bigger impact than a metal and plastic dog-sized bot. Think of all the places small animals like rats and cockroaches can get to. How there are insects absolutely everywhere. You know how people say they wish they could be a “fly on the wall”? Well, with the right tiny robot, you could make that happen.
Biomimicry Is an Age-Old Engineering Tradition
The thing is, building a big robot is relatively easy. In fact, you’ll find that early prototypes of robots tends to be massive compared to the more polished versions that come later. For one thing, they’re easier to work on compared to a final production model where every cubic inch is packed with tech, but there are limits to how small we can make motors, joints, and the other bits and pieces you need to make a robot work and be useful.
This is one of the biggest challenges in microrobotics. How do you make legs that are just a few millimeters in length? How do you make wings flap that are half an inch long? Scientists and engineers in many different disciplines have been working for decades to solve some of these issues, and a lot of that progress has been guided by biomimetics.
Biomimetics is an approach where we look at nature to give us an idea of how to solve a problem that natural selection has already tackled over billions of years. The shape of a bird’s wing, for example, inspires engineers to work out how to make planes fly. Likewise, insects and other small animals have numerous adaptations that let them do incredible things, and humans can copy their homework for our robots.
Say Hello to RoboBee, HAMR-Jr
There are quite a few cool micro robots to point to as examples, but three of them piqued my interest in particular.
Robobee is one I’ve been aware of for quite a few years. This project dates back to around 2013 and the idea of building a robotic bee immediately presented a dozen “impossible engineering tasks”.
The team of engineers and scientists slowly solved each of these roadblocks with breathroughs in materials science and engineering at the micro scale. Using materials with special properties and tiny hinges and folds, Robobee took flight, albeit with a tether. In 2019, the bee finally didn’t need a leash,and achieveduntethered flight. Today, there are numerous robots in development at places like MIT that employ similar technology to robobee.
Then there’s HAMR-JR the smaller successor to HAMR: Harvard Ambulatory Microrobot as seen in the title image at the top of this article. The HAMR family of bots were inspired by the cockroach which, however you might feel about them, is an absolutely phenomenal design to copy. HAMR-JR is dextrous and fast, while being about as large as a penny. So it has plenty of potential to serve as a platform for future micro-robots.
Then there are micro-robots that are designed to go inside your body, likeBionaut. The tiny robot is injected using a needle and is then externally guided inside your body to reach a specific place and release its payload. For example, it can be guided to a tumor, and then release anti-cancer medication in that area without affecting the rest of the body.
The guidance is pre-planned and automated, using precise magnetic manipulation. Then, when the job is done, the Bionautgoes back to where it was injectedso that it can be removed.
Bionaut is still in the very early stages, but it’s one of the most exciting applications of micro-robotics I’ve seen!
Helpers Might Be Coming in Swarms
Micro-robots may not seem so capable by themselves, but think of how powerful a swarm of bees or locusts can be. In nature, this often leads to devastation, but the power of a swarm can be turned into something useful. Millions of robotic sensors to check air quality or radiation. Imagine thousands of tiny robots that clean and sanitize an area, and, of course, swarms of small robots that can quickly move through the rubble of a disaster and find survivors quickly when every second counts.
Make no mistake, big robots are going to have a major impact this century, but we’d be foolish to forget that world-changing things can also come in small packages.
