6 Tiny Robotic Ants, Weighing 3.5 Oz. In Total, Pull a 3900-lb. Car (nytimes.com)

Reader schwit1 writes about MicroTug, a team of six microrobots that weigh just 3.5 ounces (99 grams), and can move a car: Researchers at Standford University's Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab have developed six miniature robots that have the pulling-power to move objects 2,000 times of their own body weight. The tiny robots and their inter-coordination are based on that of ants. The microrobot uses a special kind of glue on its feet that make them serve as sticky gecko toes. "Their new demonstration is the functional equivalent of a team of six humans moving a weight equivalent to that of an Eiffel Tower and three Statues of Liberty," said David Christensen, a graduate student who is one of the authors of "Let's All Pull Together: Principles for Sharing Large Loads in Microrobot Teams paper. Researchers' fascination with gecko adhesive is nothing new. In 2010, Stanford mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky developed a Stickybot that could climb walls. A similar robot that could roll up on smooth as well rough surfaces was demonstrated by a group of researchers in Canada in 2011.

Comments

The car wasn't pulled

[Anonymous Coward]

They made the car roll, not the same thing as pulling the effeil tower...

Not that tiny

[wonkey_monkey]

6 Tiny Robotic Ants

They're not tiny if you're comparing them with ants.

Terrible summary

[burtosis]

F=ma so if a is small then F, the force from the robots, can also be small. With over inflated tires and a smooth flat surface the rolling friction F needs to overcome can be quite small. Even a small child could push a 3900lb vehicle under the right circumstances. It would be far more useful (and less impressive to the masses) if an actual figure of force was given, much less any other relevant information.