- Who
- Microbot
- What
- 40 x 40 micrometre(s) aka micron(s)
- Where
- United States ()
- When
In August 2020, scientists at Cornell University, USA, announced they had created a microbot with 4 legs that could walk. Only 5 microns thick, 40 microns wide and between 40 and 70 microns long, depending on the design. The 'brain' and body consist of a silicon photovoltaic circuit while the legs are made from a quartet of atom-thick platinum with a titanium cap. When activated with an electrical current, the legs bend to provide a mechanism for walking. The Cornell team use a laser to alternately stimulate the photocells on the body of the robot and so the robot walks. The ultimate applications for mobile robots of this size are many and it would be possible to make 1 million of these robots on a 4 inch (101.6mm) square of silicon.
