Microscopic Robots That Sense, Think, Act, and Compute

Scientists have successfully built microscopic robots that are roughly the size of a single-celled organism and possess the ability to sense, think, and act on their own. While previous tiny robots often relied on external equipment for control, these new devices feature onboard computer circuits that allow them to make decisions and store information just like a regular computer,. They are manufactured using standard computer chip technology and are powered by light, which also serves as a way to send them wireless instructions,. Once programmed, these robots can swim through fluids using electrical currents and use sensors to detect changes in their environment, such as temperature, adjusting their movement automatically to find warmer or cooler spots,. Because these robots are inexpensive to produce and do not require complex laboratory gear to operate, they could one day be used for advanced medical tasks, such as performing microsurgery or delivering drugs directly to specific areas inside the body. https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/scirobotics.adu8009