Tiny Robo-beetle is powered by liquid methanol-fuelled 'muscles'

A tiny robotic beetle that can crawl, climb slopes, carry different loads and has'muscles' powered by a liquid methanol fuel has been developed by researchers. Roboticists from California developed the bug-sized'RoBeetle' -- which weighs in at less than 1/100th of an ounce -- to explore new means of propelling tiny machines. It is hoped that the design will inspire a new breed of small-scale robots that can perform simple tasks without the need for external controls or bulky components. A tiny robotic beetle that can crawl, climb slopes, carry different loads and has'muscles' powered by a liquid methanol fuel has been developed by researchers. When building robots of the scale of the RoBeetle, batteries become relatively inefficient at storing energy, especially when compared to the amount that can be stored in animal fat -- the biological equivalent of a fuel tank.