Chinese Scientists Develop World’s Smallest, Lightest Wireless Transforming Robot
- tech360.tv
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Chinese researchers have unveiled what they claim is the world’s smallest and lightest wireless robot capable of transforming to adapt to different environments, including land and air.
The microrobot, developed by teams from Tsinghua University and Beihang University, measures just 9 cm in length and weighs 25 grams. It can switch between flying and driving modes, allowing it to navigate complex terrains such as slopes, wedge-shaped surfaces and confined spaces.
The robot is powered by a newly developed “morphable actuator,” a component that converts energy into force and enables the robot to change shape and lock into stable formations using electrothermal control.
The actuator design, inspired by Lego, allows for customisation and could be used in medical devices, virtual and augmented reality systems, and other robotic applications.
Professor Zhang Yihui, an engineering mechanics expert at Tsinghua University and study author, said the robot’s small size and light weight give it the fastest ground movement speed among known wireless land-air robots.
“This advantage significantly improves the robot’s endurance under the same energy supply, and at the same time has stronger environmental adaptability,” Zhang said.
In outdoor tests, the robot demonstrated its ability to fly over obstacles, land, and then continue moving on the ground. It can also switch to a water mode when encountering flooded areas.
Zhang said the robot could be used in disaster rescue operations, environmental monitoring, and geological exploration.
“In disaster rescue scenarios, it can crawl in the ruins to find survivors, switch to water sports mode when encountering waterlogged areas, and even switch to flight mode in open spaces to quickly reach the designated location,” he said.
Unlike bug-inspired drones that are limited to aerial missions, the microrobot can adapt to different environmental conditions by switching between motion modes.
The researchers said their actuator enables independent control of shape-morphing and shape-locking using the same energy source, a challenge in small-scale robotics.
Zhang added that the actuator could also be applied to create expandable implantable devices such as electronic stents, as well as dynamic display interfaces and tactile feedback systems for virtual and augmented reality.
The study was published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence on April 18.
Chinese researchers created a 9 cm, 25 g wireless robot that can fly and drive
The robot uses a morphable actuator inspired by Lego for shape-shifting
It can adapt to land, air, and water environments for rescue and exploration
Source: SCMP