Dancing Micro-Robots Waltz on a Pin's Head

coondoggie writes to mention that Duke University researchers have created micro-robots and made them dance to their tune. With dimensions measured in microns, these tiny bots were made to waltz to the music of Strauss on the head of a pin just one millimeter across. "In another sequence, the devices pivot in a precise fashion whenever their boom-like steering arms are drawn down to the surface by an electric charge. This response resembles the way dirt bikers turn by extending a boot heel, researchers said. The researchers said they have also been able to get five of the devices to group-maneuver in cooperation under the same control system.Known as microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microrobots, the devices are of suitable scale for Lilliputian tasks such as moving around the interiors of laboratories-on-a-chip."

Comments

How many robots can dance on the head of a pin?

[ciaran.mchale]

The researchers just have to call these micro robots "angels". That then will finally answer the age-old question.

Re:How many robots can dance on the head of a pin?

[blue l0g1c]

Ah, but how many pins can you fit on the head of an angel?

Maybe Hellraiser was a fallen angel?

This is totally getting modded off-topic. :/

They can't hear the music

[EmbeddedJanitor]

They're too small, relative to the wavelength, to hear. So how can they be dancing to it ?

Re:They can't hear the music

[Anonymous Coward]

They are not dancing in response to audio stimulation at all. They are dancing in response to voltage fluctuations in their "dance floor". Kind of like the duck that dances on top of an inverted kettle... it doesn't work if you forget to put the candle under the kettle!

Grey goo..

[onion2k]

So when the grey goo comes I'll finally be able to get a dance partner? Woo!

I wonder if it puts out on the first date..

technically

[bornyesterday]

They simply twirled to the music. Waltzing is has a 1-2-3-pause beat pattern. Just because they danced TO a waltz does not mean that they waltzed.

Where's the movie of the waltz on a pin's head?

[heroine]

The blogger keeps referring to dancing robots, links to a home video of an amateur recital of something, links to some robot videos from years ago, but nothing here showing robots dancing a waltz on a pin's head.

is it me, or is it materializing?

[Bananatree3]

Now we have micron sized robots. Just last week we had announcement of a robotic arm within spitting distance of human dexterity. We have airplane-converts to car almost here for the consumer. An electric car that can get as much mileage as a gas car and still do freeway speeds (Tesla Roadster). We've got plugin hybrids within a year or two at most hitting the high end consumer market (commercial plugins), that will drop gas consumption at large scales.

We live in exciting times.

Let's dance to the Thunder!

[brunokummel]

Too bad the little fellas couldn't actually "hear" the music...since the frequency we are able to hear would sound much more like a huge roar than music
....I guess they probably just were trying to run for cover from the thunderstorm... Can you imagine the damage a single drop of rain can make on a microrobot?

Those scientists are just a bunch of insensitive clods.

Where's the story?

[AlgorithMan]

Maybe I'm just too tired, but I only find sketches and texts via that link... no video, not even a single photo... I have seen nothing there that gives any indication that these robots actually exist

so now "stuff that matters" includes people saying they did something?