Colloidal robotics

Albert Tianxiang Liu^{1

2}, Marek Hempel³, Jing Fan Yang¹, Ada M Brooks¹, Ana Pervan⁴, Volodymyr B Koman¹, Ge Zhang¹, Daichi Kozawa¹, Sungyun Yang¹, Daniel I Goldman⁵, Marc Z Miskin⁶, Andréa W Richa⁷, Dana Randall⁸, Todd D Murphey⁴, Tomás Palacios⁹, Michael S Strano¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
³ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
⁵ School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁶ Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁷ School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
⁸ School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁹ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. tpalacios@mit.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. strano@mit.edu.

PMID: 37620646
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01589-y

Review

Colloidal robotics

Albert Tianxiang Liu et al. Nat Mater. 2023 Dec.

. 2023 Dec;22(12):1453-1462.

doi: 10.1038/s41563-023-01589-y. Epub 2023 Aug 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
³ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
⁵ School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁶ Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁷ School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
⁸ School of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁹ Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. tpalacios@mit.edu.
¹⁰ Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. strano@mit.edu.

PMID: 37620646
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-023-01589-y

Abstract

Robots have components that work together to accomplish a task. Colloids are particles, usually less than 100 µm, that are small enough that they do not settle out of solution. Colloidal robots are particles capable of functions such as sensing, computation, communication, locomotion and energy management that are all controlled by the particle itself. Their design and synthesis is an emerging area of interdisciplinary research drawing from materials science, colloid science, self-assembly, robophysics and control theory. Many colloidal robot systems approach synthetic versions of biological cells in autonomy and may find ultimate utility in bringing these specialized functions to previously inaccessible locations. This Perspective examines the emerging literature and highlights certain design principles and strategies towards the realization of colloidal robots.

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References

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Colloidal robotics

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Colloidal robotics

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