Miniature 'origami robots' that can flip, spin, and SWIM could dispense medicines around the body

It may sound like the plot of'Fantastic Voyage', but miniature robots that can travel around the human body and dispense medicines could soon be a reality. Researchers at Stanford University have developed a'millirobot' that can roll, flip, spin, and even swim to enter narrow spaces. The fingertip-sized machine is inspired by the Japanese paper-folding art of origami and can be controlled using magnets – carrying drug treatments directly to a tumour, blood clot, infection or pain point. The millirobot could revolutionise medicine, according to the researchers, replacing pills or intravenous injections that can cause unwanted side effects. In the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew are shrunk and injected into a dying patient, where they venture through his veins into his brain and destroy a blockage using laser guns.