Microbots
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These robots are the
size of a speck of dust. Thousands fit side by side on a single silicon wafer similar
to those used for computer chips, and they pull themselves free and start
crawling.
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Possible Uses :
Ø They could crawl into cellphone batteries and clean and
rejuvenate them.
Ø They might be a boon to neural scientists, burrowing into the
brain to measure nerve signals.
Ø Millions of them in a petri dish could be used to test ideas in
networking and communications.
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Working : There are layers of platinum and titanium on a silicon wafer.
When an electrical voltage is applied, the platinum contracts while the titanium
remains rigid, and the flat surface bends. The bending became the motor that moves
the limbs of the robots, each about 100 atoms thick powers the robots by
shining lasers on tiny solar panels on their backs. The robots run on a
fraction of a volt and consume only 10 billionths of a watt.
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Challenges : For robots injected into the brain, lasers would not work as
the power source. The scientists contemplate that magnetic fields might be an
alternative. The scientist wants to make other robots swim rather than crawl
because for tiny machines, swimming can be arduous as water becomes viscous,
like honey.
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