THESE MAGNETIC NANOBOTS COULD CARRY DRUGS INTO YOUR BRAIN

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE BLOOD!

By Kelsey D. Atherton Posted September 25, 2013

  

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Magnetic Microrobots

Sangwon Kim, Famin Qiu, Samhwan Kim, Ali Ghanbari, Cheil Moon, Li Zhang, Bradley J. Nelson, Hongsoo Choi

It's like a magic elevator for medicine.

These tiny cages, each 100 microns long and 40 microns wide, may not look like much, but they are the new semi-trucks of targeted medicine delivery. Developed by a team of Chinese researchers, in conjunction with Swiss and South Korean institutes, the nickel-coated microbots are steered wirelessly by electromagnetic fields. Thanks to that external control, these microbots can carry precious cargo to exactly where the body needs it, including to sensitive places like brains or eyes.

Tiny robots swimming through blood for medical purposes are a relatively new phenomena. In 2011, researchers published a paper on miniscule motors that could propel such machines. Other microbots can carry medicine, but their spiral shape and smaller bodies limit how much can carry. Magnetically steered robots inside living animals have also been tested before.

What makes these microbots unique? Size! Zhang Li, a researcher on the project, explains that "a microbot is like a vehicle that ships drugs directly to the affected area. And I want to design a truck, not a car." Larger robots mean more medicine delivered. Human trials of these robots are likely decades away, but they have been tested in rabbits and mice.

A summary of the research was published in Advanced Materials in July, 2013, and these latest developments will be the cover story in an upcoming issue ofAdvanced Materials.

[ZDNet]

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Wall-Ye wine robot takes bow in Burgundy

Robotisation : Le VIN de Wall Ye, The Wine Robot

This Little Robot Will Help Make the Wine You Swill

This Little Robot Will Help Make the Wine You Swill Jamie Condliffe This little chap, known as Wall-Ye V.I.N., might look adorable, but he means business. With four wheels, two arms, six cameras, and on-board GPS, he's capable of pruning 600 vines a day in order to help make the wine you swill every evening. Developed in—surprise, surprise—France, Wall-Ye is designed to take on the more menial chores a vineyard has to offer: namely pruning vines and removing unproductive young shoots. At the same time, though, he's capable of collecting data as he trundles around, keeping an eye on soil conditions and the state of the vines. Its AI brain, far from booze-sozzled, allows it to gradually create an accurate map of the vineyard, learning as it goes, and its cameras mean it can recognize plant features. All-told, it looks like it could replace vineyard workers if they're not careful. Indeed, the robot is about to be trialled at Bordeaux's Chateau Mouton-Rothschild—probably the most exclusive vineyard in the world. If that' goes well, it could well seal Wall-Ye's fate. Something better had, at any rate, because otherwise the $32,000 price tag will no doubt deter many a wine producer. [Wall-Ye via AFP via Verge] http://gizmodo.com/

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video)

Robot Hall of Fame inducts Big Dog, PackBot, Nao and WALL-E (video) By Brian Heater posted Oct 23rd, 2012 at 11:41 PM

It's the sort of ceremony that's so magical it can only occur on even-numbered years. Inventors, educators, entertainers, college students and media folk gathered at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA tonight for the 2012 inductions to the Robot Hall of Fame, a Carnegie Mellon-sponsored event created to celebrate the best of our mechanical betters. This year, the field included four categories, judged by both a jury of 107 writers, designs, entrepreneurs and academics and the public at large, each faction constituting half the voting total. The show kicked off, however, with the induction of 2010 winners, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the da Vinci Surgical System, iRobot's Roomba, the Terminator and Huey, Dewey and Louie, a trio of robots from 1971's Silent Running. The first 'bot to secure its spot in the class of 2012, was the programmable humaoid Nao, from Aldebaran Robotics, which beat out the iRobot Create and Vex Robotics Design System in the Educational category. The PackBot military robot from iRobot took the Industrial and Service category, beating out the Kiva Mobile Robotic Fulfillment System and Woods Hole Oceanographic's Jason. Boston Dynamic's Big Dog ran over some stiff competition in the form of Willow Garage's PR2 and NASA's Robonaut to win the Research title. And WALL-E triumphed over doppelganger Johnny Five and the Jetsons' Rosie in the Entertainment category. Relive the festivities in four minutes after the break.