On-board tools for mobile miniature robots

Abstract

Miniature mobile robots hold the potential to transform how minimally invasive biomedical procedures will be conducted in the future. Being powered and controlled wirelessly, these robots are also able to access highly confined and enclosed spaces owing to their small-scale. As such, these miniature mobile robots have gained much attention in recent years with various designs being proposed by the scientific community. However, it is highly desirable for such robots to possess multiple surgical functions to better enable them to effectively conduct and perform minimally invasive surgery. Here we demonstrate a magnetically actuated soft robot of millimetre-scale capable of performing six distinct functions independently – multimodal locomotion, cutting, gripping, storing cargo, drug dispensing and remote heating. We fabricate the millimetre-scale multifunctional robot and conduct experiments to prove the feasibility of the design as well as to identify areas requiring further refinement.