New cell-scale robots can sense their environment, compute decisions, and move independently without magnetic or ultrasonic control systems.
    • Pennomi@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9 days

      It’s a finger under heavy magnification, if you’re not joking.

      If you are, it’s because they wanted to demonstrate how e-fish-ient their new technology is.

      • Bloefz@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8 days

        Ah no I wasn’t joking, I didn’t get that, lol. It was also that the pic showed only for half a sec before a popup appeared to pay for the site.

        Thanks!

        Ps e-fish-ient lol

    • endless_nameless@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9 days

      Nah, it won’t be an apocalypse. Just more of the dystopia we’re all completely accustomed to. You’ll get ads based on the content of your blood. Police will show up at your door minutes after you ingest any illegal drug. And you know that thing where LinkedIn and dating apps are like “we may or may not have found you a match, pay us to find out!” You’ll get notifications like that about cancer.

  • Pennomi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9 days

    I always assumed nanoscale robots would need to be lithography-based. Seems that was right. On the other hand, I assumed a MEMS actuator… their solid state propulsion is very interesting.

      • Pennomi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9 days

        The robot’s electrokinetic propulsion exploits microscale physics. Platinum electrodes drive fluid flow with no moving parts at around 60 nanoamperes. Four electrodes enable translation, rotation, and arcing. They currently operate at 1 volt, but could reach 10 times faster speeds near water’s electrolysis limit.

        Electric field propulsion, apparently

        • Echo Dot@feddit.ukEnglish
          9 days

          I can only see the picture but from the scale they seem to be too big to be nanobots. They seem to be about 3 or 4 mm so they’re not going in your blood vessels that’s for sure.

          • Pennomi@lemmy.worldEnglish
            9 days

            Haha that picture shows one on a finger. It’s literally half the size of a single ridge of your fingerprint. Like a speck of dust.