They have developed robotic crystals that walk slowly,
"The crystals are flexible, durable and lightweight," says Hideko Koshima, a visiting professor at Waseda's Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation. "They could possibly be used as material for microrobots which transport substances in the microscopic region, for instance, carrying egg cells for infertility treatment or conducting invasive surgery." Their study was published in Nature Communications on February 7, 2018.
Crystals are expected to play an important role as locomotive material for soft robots with mechanical motion via bending and expansion/contraction. However, more variety in movements is sought.
Previously in 2016, Koshima's research group reported that chiral azobenzene crystals bend with exposure to light. During this investigation, the crystals were found to undergo phase transition at 145°C without fracturing, even after repeated heating and cooling. Based on these findings, they designed the robotic crystals demonstrating two modes of locomotion: walking and rolling.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-02-robotic-crystals.html#jCp
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