Researchers recently invented a tiny robot that
resembles the insect beetle thus they call their invention “RoBeetle” which is
powered by an alcohol alone without the usual batteries and some source electrical
plug or electromagnetic fields as the news said.
It is small yet powerful that it can move or crawl
autonomy like the insect beetle compare to some macro robots that rely on
batteries and electrical charge.
The alcohol is the methanol alcohol.
“The methanol,
stored in a fuel tank that weighs 95 milligrams when full, triggers an
energy-releasing chemical reaction with oxygen that warps composite wire muscles
to a preprogrammed shape. That twitching of the muscles allows the microrobot
to crawl like a beetle. It is still able to move when carrying a cylindrical
object weighing 230 milligrams on its horns – 2.6 times the weight of RoBeetle
itself, or 1.3 times the weight of Robeetle and its fuel tank.” (New Scientist)
“The methanol-powered
muscles used by
RoBeetle, an 88-milligram-long microrobot, can use catalytic combustion to
reach energy levels up to 20 MJ/kg.” (New Scientist)
“Methanol-powered
artificial muscles have been created by researchers aiming to create
battery-free robotic limbs and prosthetics.” (New Scientist)
“Robots tend to be powered by batteries and plug
sockets. But the RoBeetle is a little different. This insect-size microbot
(defined as weighing less than 1 gram) runs on methanol, a type of alcohol
commonly found in solvents and antifreeze. Liquid fuels like methanol hold more
energy per unit volume than batteries, especially on a small scale. This means
methanol-powered microbots don’t require an additional external power source,
such as wires or electromagnetic fields. They could therefore theoretically
move around with more autonomy than their electrically powered counterparts while retaining
their minuscule size.” (Science Mag)
 |
| RoBettle (image from New Scientist website) |
No comments:
Post a Comment