Magnetic 'Micro-Robots' Could Lead to Tiny Automated Factories

Remember those old electric football games that used a vibrating tabletop surface to send teams of tiny NFL players scrambling around the field?

Well, researchers at SRI International are developing a super-miniaturized, high-tech variation on the theme in which tiny worker robots shimmy around a circuit board in a micro assembly plant. The 'bots are guided by magnets underneath the surface, and work in sync to assemble electronic parts and small mechanical systems.

SEE ALSO: Anything You Can Do, Robots Can Do Better Photos

The Diamagnetic Micro Manipulation (DM3) system uses magnets under the circuit board to guide the tick-sized robots in precise patterns. Because of their small mass, the bots can move very quickly and in the demo video below they appear to jump like fleas. Read more...

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