These microscopic robots swim independently and are made of only three components

construction swimming robot It’s not an easy task, do it microscopic Even less, and if they are also independent, the difficulty will be greater. However, a team of researchers succeeded, with only three components per robot. It’s the magic of chemistry and It’s not the first time We see something like this.

researchers from Queen Mary University of London They are responsible for this strange invention. it’s about Microscopic “robots” that can swim and recharge themselves. To do this, the researchers collected something as simple as oil and water droplets. The water in question contains a detergent-like substance. Results? Small robots that can swim independently and collect energy from the environment.

Chemistry and creativity

small robots Made up of oil droplets that take advantage of fluctuating temperatures From the environment to store energy and use it for swimming. When the drops cool, they release a thin, tail-like thread. This tail generates an impulse when moving causing the entire drop to move.

Later, when it is heated up again, the droplets pull the glue, and it returns to its original state. With the heat of the environment, the droplet is recharged. This process is repeated several times while allowing the drops Move by itself for at least 12 minutes.

What’s the point of this? The real application as such does not have, test Concept to demonstrate the capabilities of such a system. According to its creators, it is one of the simplest and cheapest active ingredients that can be created. Much simpler than a cell, the simplest individual organelle that exists (but still requires hundreds of genes to function).

Hope these experiences Useful for studying the basic interactions that arise between living things. They believe that by placing small robots like these in organisms, they can better study how organisms work with them, and thus with organisms of similar organic size and shape. They say that they are not harmful to living organisms, they are just drops of water and oil.

via | digital magazine
More information | Queen Mary University of London