Wireless Robots Work Under a Microscope

Martel noted, however, that robots currently in use are non-autonomous units placed in fixed locations, and they are relatively slow -- making about one movement per second. They are also relatively imprecise and can only perform simple tasks, such as moving compounds from one location to another.

In contrast, Martel said the mini robots under development at MIT will be fully autonomous and are being designed to make nearly 10,000 movements per second. They will be able to move in three dimensions, with precision as much as 10 million times better than current assembly robots.