Untethered Micro/Nanorobots for Remote Sensing: Toward Intelligent Platform

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Sensor Technology
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Untethered micro/nanorobots are gaining interest for remote sensing due to their wireless control of motion and deformation.
• These robots offer unique motion characteristics and diverse functionalities in various media, enabling novel sensing approaches.
• Traditional sensing methods face limitations in achieving in situ detection, driving the need for advanced micro/nanorobotic solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the latest advancements in micro/nanorobots for remote sensing applications.
• To summarize sensing strategies based on micro/nanorobots, including coordinated control and sensing approaches.
• To discuss challenges and future perspectives for micro/nanorobot-based intelligent sensing platforms.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent studies on micro/nanorobots for remote sensing.
• Analysis of sensing strategies utilizing self-generated signals, robot behavior, microrobotic manipulation, and robot-environment interactions.
• Exploration of coordinated control and sensing approaches in micro/nanorobotic systems.

Main Results:

• Significant research progress has been made in designing micro/nanorobot-based sensing strategies over the past decade.
• Micro/nanorobots enable in situ detection of substances challenging for traditional methods.
• Various applications in remote sensing have been demonstrated using micro/nanorobots.

Conclusions:

• Micro/nanorobots represent innovative tools for improving sensing performance and miniaturizing sensing systems.
• Further development is needed to overcome challenges in complex environments and translate lab achievements into real-world applications.
• The future of intelligent sensing platforms relies on advancements in micro/nanorobotic technology for widespread adoption.