Soft, slender, magnetic vine robots “grow” as they move
A new class of robot with magnetic skin and movement that mimics creeping vine plants, could transform cancer diagnosis and treatment, according to a new University of Leeds study
The soft, slender, “magnetic vine robots” developed by Leeds researchers not only “grow” as they move, they can also squeeze through gaps almost 40 per cent thinner than their resting diameter. This enables them to navigate narrow, complex pathways deep inside the human body, such as the bronchial tree.
By magnetising their ‘skin’ and controlling them using external magnets, academics say the little plastic robots are so manoeuvrable they can even navigate an ‘S’ bend, meaning they could potentially be used to treat tumours in the deepest, most difficult-to-reach parts of the lungs.
Engineers, scientists and clinicians based at the University’s STORM Lab, Future Manufacturing Processes Research Group and the Morimoto Lab at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), have collaborated on developing this technology. They hope it will pave the way for a revolution in the field, leading to advanced less invasive surgical tools that can be precisely steered through intricate and sensitive areas of the human body.
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