Introduction
Micro robots are gaining increasing attention. In various fields such as social life, industrial construction, and aerospace, micro robots are playing a significant role.
Micro Pipeline Detection Robot
Recently, Tsinghua University’s Laboratory of Modern Mechanisms and Robotic Equipment developed a pipeline detection robot that can move efficiently in sub-centimeter pipelines.
This robot uses high power density, long-life dielectric elastomer actuators as artificial muscles, achieving rapid assembly through adjustable magnetic units. It weighs only 2.2 grams, is 47 millimeters long, and has a diameter of less than 10 millimeters, allowing it to work in pipes with diameters of less than 1 centimeter.
This pipeline detection robot is powered by external cables and can perform horizontal and vertical movements in sub-centimeter-sized pipes, reaching speeds of 1.19 body lengths per second. Additionally, it can move at high speeds through various shapes of pipes such as L-shaped, S-shaped, and spiral pipes, regardless of whether they are filled with water, oil, air, or other media, or made of materials like glass or metal.
Compared to other types of pipeline detection robots, this pipeline detection robot has higher environmental adaptability. Researchers believe this robot is expected to play an important role in fields such as aerospace engine pipeline maintenance.
Micro Swimming Robot
Micro Swimming Robot
According to foreign media reports, NASA is working on developing a micro swimming robot.
It is reported that this micro swimming robot is the size of a smartphone and is driven by micro actuators, controlled wirelessly using ultrasound. Researchers plan to equip each robot with an independent propulsion system, onboard computing system, and ultrasound communication system, along with simple temperature, salinity, acidity, and pressure sensors, as well as chemical sensors that can monitor life signs.
NASA plans to deploy these micro swimming robots in the 2024 Europa Clipper mission. They will be sent to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, penetrating thick ice shells to explore unfamiliar waters. By analyzing the ocean characteristics and habitability of these waters, they aim to search for signs of extraterrestrial life.
Micro Remote-Controlled Walking Robot
Recently, engineers from Northwestern University in the U.S. developed the smallest remote-controlled walking robot ever.
This robot is only half a millimeter wide, resembling a tiny crab, but it is much more agile than crabs found in nature. It can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn, and even jump as needed.
The flexibility of this robot is due to the use of a shape memory alloy material. This material changes to its ‘remembered’ shape when heated. In experiments, researchers used a laser beam to heat it and deform it; upon cooling, the glass coating on the robot allows it to return to its original shape. This robot has an astonishing response speed, capable of completing 10 cycles of deformation per second. The direction of the scanning laser determines its movement direction, and its speed can reach half its body length per second.
Researchers envision that this robot will assist workers in confined spaces, potentially useful for repairing or assembling micro machines in both industrial and medical fields.
Disclaimer
Source: China Military Network
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