Scientists Uncover Magnetic Spray that Transforms Non-Living Things into Tiny Robots

Millirobots that can adjust to unstructured surroundings, function in confined spaces, and interact in various ranges of things would be useful for examination and biomedical applications.

Nonetheless, the invention of millirobots faced struggle because of their complicated techniques in fabrication.  

Just recently, scientists from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology or SIAT of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong or CityU, have devised what they describe as an "agglutinate, reprogrammable, disintegrable and biocompatible magnetic spray or M-spray that can simply transform non-living objects into millirobots.

The study findings have been published in a Science Robotics article entitled, "An agglutinate magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into millirobots for biomedical applications."

The M-Spray

The newly-devised M-spray or magnetic spray is primarily composited from a PVA or polyvinyl alcohol, gluten, and magnetic elements.

Meanwhile, the M-skin made from M-spray can be reprogrammed by means of regulating the simple magnetization direction without having the primary structure changed.

When the covered spray gets thoroughly wetted, its inventors explained, the spacing between magnetic particles gets more significant because of the PVA swelling.

Furthermore, the constraints on magnetic particles coming from the PVA and gluten are considerably reduced. Consequently, the developers continued explaining, and the said magnetic particle inside the spray could be readjusted along the direction "of magnetic flux." It can overcome limitations when there is an application of a strong magnetic field.

How the Invention Works

According to the study's co-first author, SIAT associate professor Dr. Shang Wanfeng, the "on-demand reprogramming ability" bestows millirobots with excessive adaptivity to attain diverse locomotion.

Furthermore, the associate professor added, their team exhibited how a three-section reptile millirobot is reprogrammed and that it could move with "3D caterpillar prior program, and 2D concertina following reprogramming.

As indicated in the research, the M-Spray can be broken down by increasing the magnetic particles' kinetic energy to overcome inner restrictions.

This is possible through the application of an oscillating magnetic field in an aqueous atmosphere. More so, the magnetically-induced breakdown ensures the assembled millirobot can break down on command.

Millirobot for the Biomedical Area

Researchers said the study had proven as well, the promising applications in the biomedical field, including the ability to navigate an M-spray covered catheter in the "narrow vascular model, the reprogramming of multipoint sampling cotton" for numerous sets of steering, and a capsule described as "magnetic spray-covered" for active delivery.

Specifically, the study authors used a rabbit stomach as their experiment, demonstrating that an assembled capsule millirobot could efficiently enhance the retention, not to mention the concentration of a medicine in certain lesions.

Commenting on their new project, one of the study authors, Dr. Xinyu Wu said, their study "offers a general on-demand" construction system of robot by "leveraging the structure," as well as the morphology of the aimed or targeted things, themselves.

With biocompatible elements, Wu continued, such side effects, from its breaking down, are insignificant, making it an ideal "candidate for biomedical applications."

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