Building the world’s smallest autonomous robot, smaller than a grain of salt and capable of sensing, thinking, and acting

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan have succeeded in creating a sub-millimeter robot that incorporates a computer, sensors, and a motor and is smaller than a grain of salt.

This robot, which resembles a microchip, is made of materials such as silicon, platinum, and titanium and is powered by solar cells.

Unlike previous microrobots that depended on external control, this robot is able to sense its surroundings, make decisions, and act independently.

The results of this research were published in the journal Science Robotics, and researchers predict that within the next 10 years, this technology will have real applications in medicine, such as tissue repair, delivering drugs to remote areas, and accessing the smallest biological units of the body.

This achievement solves a 40-year-old challenge in robotics and paves the way for a new generation of intelligent robots at the micron scale.