 Scientists made a 'swimming' robot in the body
Inspired by pangolins, mammals of the Sahara desert in Africa, scientists have created miniature robots that can 'swim' around the human body.
Scientists say the soft robot is capable of several tasks such as delivering objects, increasing temperature and stopping bleeding. They also said it could be introduced into the human body in the future to test hard-to-reach areas, such as the stomach and small intestine.
For now, the robot has only been tested on sample tissue. But its makers say more testing is needed.
Tests have shown that the robot can heat itself up to 70 degrees Celsius. The makers say it will be helpful in treatment in many ways. Among its potential applications, they cite work such as treating cancer or stopping bleeding and injecting drugs into the body.
Scientists have long hoped to develop magnetic robots made of soft metals that would allow them to observe the human body without surgery or dismemberment.
The work also faced several obstacles. The British newspaper "The Independent" mentioned in the report that the robot's safety system and functionality were limited.
In an attempt to address this problem, researchers turned their attention to pangolins. The whole body of the mammal is covered with scales. This means that they have previously been threatened with 'predation'.
Initially, the scientists planned to use that fiber structure. They were inspired by the fact that even though the animals' bodies were 'encased in hard armor, they could move flexibly and without problems'.
The ability of pangolins is due to the hard scales on their bodies arranged in such a way that the ends of one scale cover the next scale. Scientists want to bring such benefits to the new robot.
The robots are called 'Millirobots' because of their small size. They are one centimeter in length and two centimeters in width, using a similar 'overlapping' structure. And like pangolins themselves, they can heat, change shape and roll.
The work is described in the research journal 'Nature Communications', titled 'Pangolin Inspired Untethered Magnetic Robot for On-Demand Biomedical Heating Applications'.
