Untethered magnetic manipulation of biomedical millirobots has a high potential for minimally invasive surgical applications. However, it is still challenging to exert high actuation forces on the small robots over a large distance. Permanent magnets offer stronger magnetic torques and forces than electromagnetic coils, however, feedback control is more difficult. As proven by Earnshaw's theorem, it is not possible to achieve a stable magnetic trap in 3D by static permanent magnets. Here, we report a stable 2D magnetic force trap by an array of permanent magnets to control a millirobot. The trap is located in an open space with a tunable distance to the magnet array in the range of 20 - 120mm, which is relevant to human anatomical scales. The design is achieved by a novel GPU-accelerated optimization algorithm that uses mean squared error (MSE) and Adam optimizer to efficiently compute the optimal angles for any number of magnets in the array. The algorithm is verified using numerical simulation and physical experiments with an array of two magnets. A millirobot is successfully trapped and controlled to follow a complex trajectory. The algorithm demonstrates high scalability by optimizing the angles for 100 magnets in under three seconds. Moreover, the optimization workflow can be adapted to optimize a permanent magnet array to achieve the desired force vector fields.

Magnetism is widely used for the wireless localization and actuation of robots and devices for medical procedures. However, current static magnetic localization methods suffer from large required magnets and are limited to only five degrees of freedom due to a fundamental constraint of the rotational symmetry around the magnetic axis. We present the small-scale magneto-oscillatory localization (SMOL) method, which is capable of wirelessly localizing a millimeter-scale tracker with full six degrees of freedom in deep biological tissues. The SMOL device uses the temporal oscillation of a mechanically resonant cantilever with a magnetic dipole to break the rotational symmetry, and exploits the frequency-response to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio with sub-millimeter accuracy over a large distance of up to 12 centimeters and quasi-continuous refresh rates up to 200 Hz. Integration into real-time closed-loop controlled robots and minimally-invasive surgical tools are demonstrated to reveal the vast potential of the SMOL method.

Small-scale robots hold great potential for targeted cargo delivery in minimally-inv asive medicine. However, current robots often face challenges to locomote efficiently on slip pery biological tissue surfaces, especially when loaded with heavy cargos. Here, we report a magnetic millirobot that can walk on rough and slippery biological tissues by anchoring itself on the soft tissue surface alternatingly with two feet and reciprocally rotating the body to mov e forward. We experimentally studied the locomotion, validated it with numerical simulations and optimized the actuation parameters to fit various terrains and loading conditions. Further more, we developed a permanent magnet set-up to enable wireless actuation within a huma n-scale volume which allows precise control of the millirobot to follow complex trajectories, cl imb vertical walls, and carry cargo up to four times of its own weight. Upon reaching the targ et location, it performs a deployment sequence to release the liquid drug into tissues. The ro bust gait of our millirobot on rough biological terrains, combined with its heavy load capacity, make it a versatile and effective miniaturized vehicle for targeted cargo delivery.

An invention by scientists in the Netherlands aims to break up blood clots without surgery or drugs. Blood clots are a serious health problem that can cause strokes, heart attacks and even death. Some blood clots can be removed by doctors using a flexible tool that goes inside the affected vein or artery, but others are too hard to reach. What if there was a way to break up those clots without surgery or drugs? CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER Scientists have created tiny robots that can swim through your blood vessels and drill into the clots.

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.

Tiny robots with soft, flexible bodies and spiky feet can climb along the moist, slippery inner walls of the lungs and the gut where they could one day deliver drugs and medical sensors in hard-to-reach places. The new "millirobot" – which is a few millimetres long – has feet that stick to tissue surfaces without losing their grip. The robot can resist being dislodged by jarring movements and can even cling to a surface as liquids flush over it, resembling the movement of fluids associated with breathing and digestion. Capable of climbing straight up – and even upside down – inside the human body, the wireless device represents "a significant milestone in soft robotics", says Metin Sitti at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany. Sitti's previous millirobot could walk, roll, swim, jump and crawl along biological tissues, he says.

We may soon have teeny tiny robots crawling throughout our bodies to deliver drugs. That is, if a prototype robot from scientists in Germany ever sees the light of day. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany have developed a rubbery, worm-like robot that they hope will be used for medicinal purposes in the future. The robot can crawl, walk and roll on land, swim in water and navigate obstacle courses. A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany have developed a rubbery, worm-like robot that they hope will be used for medicinal purposes in the future.

A learned neural network dynamics model enables a hexapod robot to learn to run and follow desired trajectories, using just 17 minutes of real-world experience. Enabling robots to act autonomously in the real-world is difficult. Even with expensive robots and teams of world-class researchers, robots still have difficulty autonomously navigating and interacting in complex, unstructured environments. Why are autonomous robots not out in the world among us? Engineering systems that can cope with all the complexities of our world is hard.

Enabling robots to act autonomously in the real-world is difficult. Even with expensive robots and teams of world-class researchers, robots still have difficulty autonomously navigating and interacting in complex, unstructured environments. A learned neural network dynamics model enables a hexapod robot to learn to run and follow desired trajectories, using just 17 minutes of real-world experience. Why are autonomous robots not out in the world among us? Engineering systems that can cope with all the complexities of our world is hard.