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. Theyre 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 Insectlike Claw for Grasping, Transportation, and Delivery Wanfeng Shang, and Yajing Shen, (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 worlds largest scientific society. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistryrelated information and research through its multiple databases, peerreviewed journals and scientific conferences. Join the American Chemical Society