An electricity-conducting, environment-sensing, shape-changing machine the size of a human cell? Is that even possible?
Cornell physicists not only say yes, but they’ve actually built the “muscle” for one.
The team has made a robot exoskeleton that can rapidly change its shape upon sensing chemical or thermal changes in its environment. And, they claim, these microscale machines – equipped with electronic, photonic and chemical payloads – could become a powerful platform for robotics at the size scale of biological microorganisms.