Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Metin Sitti, Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, and his team of scientists invented a magnetically controlled soft robot only four millimeters in size, that can walk, crawl or roll through uneven terrain, carry cargo, climb onto the water surface, and even swim in it. The inspiration comes from soft-bodied beetle larvae and caterpillars, and even jellyfishes posed as biological models. One day, this small-scale robot may enable targeted drug delivery or minimally invasive surgery, the researchers hope. Its multiple locomotion capability in complex environments is so unique that science journal Nature will publish the researchers´ findings in its February 2018 edition.
is.mpg.de
The full scientific paper can be found here: dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature25443
Metin Sitti, Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, and his team of scientists invented a magnetically controlled soft robot only four millimeters in size, that can walk, crawl or roll through uneven terrain, carry cargo, climb onto the water surface, and even swim in it. The inspiration comes from soft-bodied beetle larvae and caterpillars, and even jellyfishes posed as biological models. One day, this small-scale robot may enable targeted drug delivery or minimally invasive surgery, the researchers hope. Its multiple locomotion capability in complex environments is so unique that science journal Nature will publish the researchers´ findings in its February 2018 edition.
is.mpg.de
The full scientific paper can be found here: dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature25443
