An agglutinate magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into millirobots for biomedical applications.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Millirobots offer potential for exploration and biomedical tasks in challenging environments.
• Developing simple, scalable fabrication methods is crucial for advancing millirobot technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a minimalist and scalable fabrication technique for creating adaptable millirobots.
• To demonstrate the locomotive capabilities and biomedical applications of these novel millirobots.

Main Methods:

• Coating inanimate objects (1D, 2D, 3D) with a thin magnetic film (~100-250 micrometers).
• Utilizing an external magnetic field to actuate the coated objects, enabling locomotion.
• Demonstrating reprogramming and on-demand disintegration of the magnetic film.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated magnetically drivable millirobots preserving object morphology.
• Achieved diverse locomotive abilities including crawling, walking, and rolling.
• Demonstrated potential for biomedical applications such as catheter navigation and targeted drug delivery.

Conclusions:

• The proposed spray-coating method provides a simple, scalable approach for millirobot fabrication.
• These adaptable millirobots exhibit versatile locomotion and programmability.
• The technology shows significant promise for advancing minimally invasive biomedical interventions.