Scientists have created a creepy crawling robot that travels through the body to cure diseases.
The 3D printed machine is made of gelatin and is powered by nothing but temperature.
It was inspired by the inchworm, which brought a “kind of intelligence” to soft robotics.
The smart device could replace pills or intravenous injections, which can have life-threatening side effects.
Lead author Professor David Gracias from Johns Hopkins University in the US said: “It seems very simple, but this is an object that moves with no batteries, no wiring and no external power of any kind – it just relies on the expansion and contraction of gel. .
“Our study shows how manipulating the shape, size and patterns of gels can tune morphology to embody a kind of intelligence for locomotion.”
There is hope in delivering many drugs directly to a tumor, blood clot or infection, leaving healthy tissue alone.
Robots are made almost entirely of hard materials such as metals and plastics – a fundamental obstacle to biomedical progress.
The water-based “Gel-Bot” feels like a fruit jelly. Previous research has shown that gels that swell or shrink in response to temperature can create intelligent structures.
Now the US team has shown that they can be strategically manipulated to make robots move forward and backward on flat surfaces.
prof. Gracias plans to train the Gelbots to crawl in response to variations in human biomarkers and biochemicals.
He also wants to test other worms and seas-inspired shapes and forms and place cameras and sensors in their bodies.
It is hoped that robots will eventually change the way doctors examine patients – serving as minimally invasive devices for biomedical diagnosis and treatment.
The robot was described in the journal Science Robotics.
Author: Markus Waghorn
Source: Metro.co
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