Scientists have assembled the world’s smallest house by using a combination of robotics and nanotechnology. The micro-house even has a door that a house mite can fit through.
The house has been devised, according to Engadget, as a proof-of-concept study from a nanorobotics team based at the Femto-ST Institute in Besancon, France. The researchers successfully assembled a new microbotics system termed the μRobotex nanofactory. By deploying tiny robots the researchers can construct microstructures within a large vacuum chamber. Within this they can fix components onto optical fiber tips at a level of nanometer accuracy.
The idea behind the microhouse construction was in order to demonstrate that the latest advances in optical sensing technologies can be used to manipulate ion guns (via gas injection), electron beams and finely controlled robotic piloting, so that a variety of different constructs can be rendered. As an example of the complexity and tiny scale of operations, the ion gun focuses on an area only 300 micrometers by 300 micrometers so that it can to fire ions onto the fiber tip and silica membrane.
This forms part of the area of lab-on-fiber technologies. In the early stages of this technology there were no robotic actuators available for for nanoassembly, which limited what engineers could achieve in terms of creating microstructures at the nano-scale. A recent advance in miniaturtized-sensing elements has addressed this. These sensing elements can be fitted onto fiber tips, allowing scientists to manipulate different components.
The technology allows enables scientists to insert optical fibers as thin as a strand of human hair into previously inaccessible locations such as jet engines, to detect radiation levels, or into human blood vessels to detect viral particles.
Image Credit: FEMTO-ST Institute
News This Week
New Research Reveals That Your Sense of Smell May Be Smarter Than You Think
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that the sense of smell is significantly influenced by cues from other senses, whereas the senses of sight and hearing are much less affected. A popular [...]
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood: the phenomenon of bacterial vampirism
Some of the world's deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling "bacterial vampirism." A team led by Washington State University researchers has found the bacteria are [...]
Organ Architects: The Remarkable Cells Shaping Our Development
Finding your way through the winding streets of certain cities can be a real challenge without a map. To orient ourselves, we rely on a variety of information, including digital maps on our phones, [...]
Novel hydrogel removes microplastics from water
Microplastics pose a great threat to human health. These tiny plastic debris can enter our bodies through the water we drink and increase the risk of illnesses. They are also an environmental hazard; found [...]
Researchers Discover New Origin of Deep Brain Waves
Understanding hippocampal activity could improve sleep and cognition therapies. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine’s biomedical engineering department have discovered a new origin for two essential brain waves—slow waves and sleep spindles—that are critical for [...]
The Lifelong Cost of Surviving COVID: Scientists Uncover Long-Term Effects
Many of the individuals released to long-term acute care facilities suffered from conditions that lasted for over a year. Researchers at UC San Francisco studied COVID-19 patients in the United States who survived some of the longest and [...]
Previously Unknown Rogue Immune Key to Chronic Viral Infections Discovered
Scientists discovered a previously unidentified rogue immune cell linked to poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in [...]
Nature’s Betrayal: Unmasking Lead Lurking in Herbal Medicine
A case of lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic medicine use demonstrates the importance of patient history in diagnosis and the need for public health collaboration to prevent similar risks. An article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association [...]
Leave A Comment