Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Is Pico The World's Smallest Robot?
What is the world's smallest robot? First, you need to define what you mean by "robot." If by "robot" you mean "autonomous self-powered robot" then this little guy from Sandia might be a good place to start.
(The latest version of Pico in video)
This is the new 2007 upgraded version of the earlier robot; see the video below for the previous version.
(Pico really can turn on a dime)
Here are the stats:
- 0.5 inch / 12.5 mm on a side
- 0.125 cubic inch / 2 cc volume
- 15 minute run time
- 0.5 f/s / 0.15 m/s maximum speed
- Microcontroller
- Infrared sensing
Is Pico really the smallest robot? Here's what it's creators say:
Pico qualifies as the smallest in its category in spite of the existence of a 1 cc class in some Japanese robot competitions because to my knowledge (to date), none of those robots have contained their own power source, and many of them don't even contain any circuitry.Some people have also pointed out a cool little nano-tech inch-worm from Dartmouth that moves along a mesh of wires. Do I even have to defend pico's place here? "...it reacts to electric changes in the grid of electrodes it moves on. This grid also supplies the microrobot with the power needed to make these movements." While I'm impressed with the (incredibly) micro-bot, it still can't carry around its own juice. I can't compete at a nano-level, so here's hoping they don't make a battery soon that can strap to its back.
Readers might want to compare Pico to these tiny bots:
- Eco-Be! Mini Robot From Citizen
The Eco-Be! is just 1.8 cm wide and 2.5 cm tall; it is operated by infrared remote control. - Slime-Ridin' Snail-Bot Colonoscopy Robot
A tiny robot that slides on a layer of mucus right on up your intestine (still in research stage). - Beetle-Sized Robot Roams Your Body
The robot is designed to enter the body through a small incision; doctors would then direct its movements.
You can find more information at Pico robot details.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/22/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.' - Aldo Giunta, 1957
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said. - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
