科学家成功制造出比盐粒还小的微型机器人，它们能感知、计算并自主行动，甚至通过声波协同作战。这项突破性技术有望颠覆医疗，实现体内精准治疗和监测，未来可能取代部分外科手术。尽管目前尚需克服生物相容性等挑战，但其低成本和高可访问性预示着快速发展。
Scientists Just Built a Robot Smaller Than a Grain of Salt That Can Think For Itself
Read original at Currently.com - AT&T Yahoo Email, News, Sports & More →Researchers just cracked a four-decade engineering puzzle that’s been taunting scientists since the 1980s. The University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania teams built a robot smaller than a grain of salt that can sense, think, and act independently—something that sounds ripped from a Marvel movie but lives in a very real lab.
These breakthrough machines don’t just miniaturize existing technology. The microscopic machine packs a 55-nanometer computer, temperature sensors accurate to 0.3 degrees Celsius, and tiny motors that propel it through liquid using platinum electrodes. Solar cells power the whole operation while a glass-like coating protects the delicate innards.
“This is the first tiny robot to sense, think and act,” says lead researcher Marc Miskin, and the specs back up that bold claim.Your future doctor’s visits might look radically different thanks to this breakthrough. These micro-robots could:• Navigate your bloodstream to deliver drugs precisely where needed• Repair damaged nerves• Monitor cell health in real-timeThe timeline isn’t sci-fi distant either—researchers predict practical medical applications within 10 years.
David Blaauw from the University of Michigan sees “real uses” emerging as the technology matures beyond its current lab-only status.Current limitations keep these robots lab-bound for now. They need biocompatibility upgrades and must adapt from their current freshwater environment to work in saltwater or on land.
But accessibility isn’t the issue—high school students successfully operated these machines using a $10 microscope, proving the technology doesn’t require million-dollar lab setups.Next-generation swarms could transform surgery itself. Getting multiple robots to communicate and coordinate represents the next major breakthrough, creating networks that could revolutionize medical procedures.
Johns Hopkins’ David Gracias envisions robots replacing surgeons entirely within 100 years, though that timeline might sound optimistic to anyone who’s watched medical device approval processes.Achievement bridges sci-fi fantasies with tangible engineering reality. When something 100 times smaller than MIT’s 1989 “Squirt” robot can outperform its ancestor while running on solar power, the impossible starts feeling inevitable.
You’re witnessing the moment when microscopic intelligence stopped being theoretical and started being practical.---From the coolest cars to the must-have gadgets, GadgetReview’s daily newsletter keeps you in the know. Subscribe - it’s fun, fast, and free.
