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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

Micro-masonry for 3D Additive Micromanufacturing

Micro-masonry for 3D Additive Micromanufacturing

Published on: August 1, 2014

Electronically integrated, mass-manufactured, microscopic robots.

Marc Z Miskin^1,2,3, Alejandro J Cortese⁴, Kyle Dorsey⁵

¹Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. mmiskin@seas.upenn.edu.

|August 28, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed new electrochemical actuators for microscopic robots, enabling mass production of silicon-based robots smaller than the human eye can see. This breakthrough overcomes a major hurdle in micro-robotics development.

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Last Updated: May 7, 2026

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Area of Science:

Microelectronics
Robotics
Materials Science

Background:

Moore's law scaling has enabled advancements in microelectronics, creating opportunities for microscopic robotics.
Existing microelectronic systems offer complexity, small size, and low cost, suitable for sub-hundred-micrometre robots.
A significant challenge in micro-robotics is the lack of a micrometre-scale actuator compatible with semiconductor processing and electronic control.

Purpose of the Study:

To overcome the roadblock in micro-robotics by developing a novel micrometre-scale actuator system.
To create voltage-controllable electrochemical actuators that are compatible with silicon processing.
To demonstrate the potential of these actuators by fabricating sub-hundred-micrometre walking robots.

Main Methods:

Development of voltage-controllable electrochemical actuators operating at low voltages (200 microvolts) and low power (10 nanowatts).
Integration of actuators with standard semiconductor processing.
Lithographic fabrication-and-release protocols for prototyping microscopic robots.

Main Results:

Successful development of electrochemical actuators fully compatible with silicon processing.
Demonstration of sub-hundred-micrometre walking robots fabricated using lithographic techniques.
Mass production capability: over one million robots per four-inch wafer due to parallel processing.

Conclusions:

The developed actuators address the critical need for a micrometre-scale actuator system in micro-robotics.
The study presents a significant advance towards mass-manufactured, silicon-based, functional microscopic robots.
This technology paves the way for robots too small to be resolved by the naked eye.