Mmastodon TechnologyRobotics first seen 8 h ago, last 39 min ago, peak #2

MIT builds gum-sized swimming robot powered by living mouse muscle

Original: 🐟 NEW: # MIT engineers built a # robot swimmer the size of a stick of gum, powered by a single sheet of living # mouse m

MIT engineers have unveiled a tiny robotic swimmer about the size of a stick of gum, driven by a single sheet of living mouse muscle tissue less than 15 micrometers thick. Blue light at 470 nanometers makes the muscle cells contract, bending gel fins that let the robot steer through a maze at around four body lengths per minute. The work highlights how living tissue can power miniature soft robots for biomedical or research uses.

Why now: The unusual combination of living muscle tissue and a tiny soft robot is a striking robotics and bioengineering breakthrough.

MITrobot swimmermouse muscle tissue

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Rank over time, top of the chart is #1. 4 snapshots from 4 h ago to 39 min ago.

Evidence

• 🐟 NEW: # MIT engineers built a # robot swimmer the size of a stick of gum, powered by a single sheet of living # mouse muscle less than 15 µm thick. # Light at 470 µm makes the # cells contract, bending gel fins to steer it through a maze at four body lengths per minute.… · tksst@fediscience.org · 3

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