Tiny, caterpillar-like soft robot grabs, rolls and degrades (video)

When you hear the term “robot,” you might think of complicated machinery working in factories or roving on other planets. But “millirobots” might change that. They’re robots about as wide as a finger that someday could deliver drugs or perform minimally invasive surgery. Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Polymer Materials have developed a soft, biodegradable, magnetic millirobot inspired by the walking and grabbing capabilities of insects. “Soft Tunable Gelatin Robot with Insect-like Claw for Grasping, Transportation, and Delivery” - Wanfeng Shang, Ph.D., and Yajing Shen, Ph.D. (corresponding authors) You might also like: Headline Science: Ingenious: ACS Fall 2022 Media Briefings - Archived: Chemical & Engineering News Produced by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Join the American Chemical Society!