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Millirobot
Microbotics (or microrobotics) is the field of miniature robotics, in particular mobile robots with characteristic dimensions less than 1 mm. The term can also be used for robots capable of handling micrometer size components. History Microbots were born thanks to the appearance of the microcontroller in the last decade of the 20th century, and the appearance of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) on silicon, although many microbots do not use silicon for mechanical components other than sensors. The earliest research and conceptual design of such small robots was conducted in the early 1970s in (then) Classified information, classified research for U.S. intelligence agencies. Applications envisioned at that time included prisoner of war rescue assistance and electronic intercept missions. The underlying miniaturization support technologies were not fully developed at that time, so that progress in prototype development was not immediately forthcoming from this early set of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenobot
Xenobots, named after the clawed frog (''Xenopus laevis''), are synthetic lifeforms that are designed by computers to perform some desired function and built by combining together different biological tissues. There is debate among scientists whether xenobots are robots, organisms, or something else entirely. Existing xenobots The first xenobots were built by Douglas Blackiston (Michael_Levin_(biologist), Levin Lab) according to Engineering drawing, blueprints generated by an Artificial intelligence, AI program, which was developed by Sam Kriegman (Josh Bongard, Bongard Lab). Xenobots built to date have been less than wide and composed of just two things: Ectoderm, skin cells and Cardiac muscle cell, heart muscle cells, both of which are derived from stem cells harvested from early (Blastula, blastula stage) frog embryos. The skin cells provide rigid support and the heart cells act as small motors, contracting and expanding in volume to propel the xenobot forward. The shape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battery (electricity)
An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode. The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons. When a battery is connected to an external electric load, those negatively charged electrons flow through the circuit and reach the positive terminal, thus causing a redox reaction by attracting positively charged ions, or cations. Thus, higher energy reactants are converted to lower energy products, and the free-energy difference is delivered to the external circuit as electrical energy. Historically the term "battery" specifically referred to a device composed of multiple cells; however, the usage has evolved to include devices composed of a single cell. Primary (single-use or "disposable") batteries are used once and discarded, as the electrode mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
