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Nano-motors For Microbots

Posted by samzenpus on from the big-things-in-micro-packages dept.

Smivs writes "The BBC are reporting on the development of tiny motors the size of a grain of salt which could power surgical Microbots. Some surgical procedures are hindered by the size or inflexibility of current instruments. For example, the labyrinthine network of blood vessels in the brain prevents the use of catheters threaded through larger blood vessels. Researchers have long envisioned that trends of miniaturisation would lead to tiny robots that could get around easily in the body. The problem until now has been powering them. Conventional electric motors do not perform as well as they are scaled down in size. As they approach millimetre dimensions, they barely have the power to overcome the resistance in their bearings. Now, research reported in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering has demonstrated a motor about 1/4mm wide, about the width of two human hairs."

9 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Seriously. by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 3, Funny

    I for one, welcome our new surgical microbot wielding medical overlo--I mean "doctors".

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    Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
  2. What would be awesome by Centurix · · Score: 5, Funny

    "tiny motors the size of a grain of salt which could power surgical Microbots"

    Or, they could power grains of salt. Hours of fun at the dinner table.

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    Task Mangler
    1. Re:What would be awesome by ByteSlicer · · Score: 4, Funny

      I predict that within 100 years, these motors will be twice as powerful, ten thousand times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings of Europe will own them.

  3. Re:Sizes by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

    In America they have the imperial system. They wouldn't know what fuck a millimeter is. They call them "Eight hairs".

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    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  4. Gumbercules! by NoobixCube · · Score: 3, Funny

    Am I the only one who can't help but think of the parasites Fry got from the sandwich?

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    Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
  5. Worlds smallest singing bass fish by schwillis · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now they can make the worlds smallest animatronic singing bass fish.

  6. Re:bloodwork by master5o1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Until the robots shutdown inside your arteries and become artificial-cholesterol.

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    signature is pants
  7. Then this proves that... by RuBLed · · Score: 3, Funny

    (bearing) resistance is futile.

  8. ... reading TFA makes better jokes by troll8901 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You, Sir, have obviously read TFA, and thus is far superior to the rest of Slash... I mean, Collective.

    You will be assimilated to serve as a bridge between the hairless apes and the overlords.

    You will be named "Rublecutus of Borg".