Miniature Robots:
Miniature Robots are those which have dimensions very small as compared to ordinary robots that are
used in defense, security and surveillance robots [15]. The purpose of these miniature is to cover those
tiny and small areas and volumes where no ordinary robot has the ability to cover i.e. pipelines, small
tunnels etc. [14]
Sandia National Laboratories:
Sandia National Laboratories are the two major Laboratories based in America and managed by United
States department of Energy, Research and Development wing. These two labs are based in Livermore,
California and Albuquerque, New Mexico. The main purpose the labs is to develop, Engineer and test the
non-nuclear parts of the nuclear weapons.
The Sandia Interior Robot, or SIR, made a lasting impression on the nation when it was introduced in
1985 as the first truly autonomous interior robot. At the time, SIR was the only robot able to navigate a
building without a preprogrammed pathway or floor wiring to find its way. It could run in manual or
autonomous modes using navigational software, also developed at Sandia. SIR could perform such
dangerous work as disposing of radioactive waste or gathering military intelligence in a hostile
environment. [10]
In 1987, Sandia unveiled Dixie, the first battlefield scout robot. The all-terrain vehicle could perform
reconnaissance in a variety of landscapes. Dixie uses teleoperation with advanced navigation aids to
enhance a remote operators understanding of surrounding terrain. [10]
The Hopper made history when it debuted in 2000 for its unique ability to hop 20 feet in the air over
walls and other obstacles. With applications for planetary exploration, gathering intelligence in war and
assisting police during standoffs or surveillance operations, the Hopper was the first robot powered by a
combustion cylinder and a piston foot, and the wheeled Hopper was the first hybrid hopping/wheeled
mobility system. [14]
Sandia continued to wow the robotics field with the introduction of super miniature robots in 2001.
These tiny robots, descended from MARV, are small enough to scramble through pipes or buildings to
look for human movement or chemical plumes. Less than cubic inch in size, these robots could turn
on a dime and park on a nickel, and could include such enhancements as miniature cameras,
microphones, communication devices and chemical micro sensors. [10] They could communicate with one
another and work together, much like insects in a swarm. The super miniature robots were selected by
Time magazine as the invention of the year in robotics in 2001.
The ultimate size of the miniature robots is primarily limited by the size of the power source; the three
watch batteries. The body must be large enough to hold batteries to support power requirements of the
robot. [13].
Super strong mini robots:
Last year, in 2015, researchers from university of Stanford features another engineering creature. At the
Schools Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab, they designed a tiny 12gram robot that can pull
up to 2,000 times its weight, the equivalent of a human being dragging a blue whale across land. [9]
The ant-like robots, which were
actually inspired by geckos, use a
controllable adhesive technology to
stick to surfaces and then lift
themselves off of them to inch
forward. According to New
Scientist, the bots movement
mimics that of an inchworm,
advancing forward in small spurts to
avoid falling over or using too much
power. [11]
The researchers also created an even smaller, 9-gram robot that can climb walls while carrying 100
times its weight (roughly a kilogram). [10] That may not seem like much, but its as if a human were to
scale the side of a skyscraper while pulling a full-sized elephant. [9]
While theyre certainly an impressive step in engineering, the robots dont seem to have much practical
use with their current size and speed. Larger versions could potentially haul much heavier loads, and
would have a wide range of applications, like moving heavy objects across construction sites. New
Scientist also posits they could be quite handy in emergencies: They could bring a ladder up to a person
trapped in a burning building, for instance. [15][11]
The researchers will present their tiny geckobots next month at the International Conference on
Robotics and Automation in Seattle.
