New tiny robot that can climb walls like a gecko and move like a worm!

A tiny robot that could one day help doctors perform surgery was inspired by the incredible grasping ability of geckos and the efficient locomotion of looper worms. The new robot uses ultraviolet (UV) light and magnetic force to move on any surface, including walls and ceilings.

It is the first soft robot of its kind that does not require connection to an external power source, allowing for remote operation, versatility for potential applications such as assisting surgeons and searching in otherwise inaccessible places. Built from a smart material, the robot, dubbed GeiwBot by the researchers after the creatures that inspired it, can be modified at the molecular level to mimic how geckos attach and detach the powerful claws on their feet, allowing the robot, about four centimeters long, three millimeters wide and one millimeter thick, to climb up a vertical wall and across a ceiling without being tethered to a power source.

Engineers built the robot using liquid crystal elastomers and synthetic sticky pads. A light-sensitive polymer strip simulates the arching and stretching motion of a worm, while gecko-inspired magnetic pads on each end do the grip.

An untethered soft robot paves the way for possible surgical applications through remote operation inside the human body and to detect or search dangerous or hard-to-reach places during rescue operations. The next step for the researchers is to develop a smooth, light-only climbing robot that does not require a magnetic field and uses near-infrared radiation instead of ultraviolet light to improve biocompatibility.