Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
It’s Only Common Sense: Selling to Today's Generation of Buyers
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Believe in Better'
Awesome Tiny Robots
August 22, 2018 | University of MarylandEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
No one said building tiny robots was easy. But the payoff? Huge.
Inspired by the strength, speed, and agility of insects, Sarah Bergbreiter, a Clark School faculty member from 2008–2018, engineers robotic systems at sub-millimeter size scales. Microrobots could be used to help avoid catastrophic collapses by inspecting bridges and other large infrastructure, or deployed in search scenarios after a natural disaster such as an earthquake. In effect, robots the size of an ant could go where humans can’t or shouldn’t—accessing tight spaces, operating under various weather and safety conditions, and autonomously executing tasks for long periods of time—to help save lives.
Engineering robotic systems on such a small scale, however, comes with an enormous set of challenges. How do you create mechanisms such as legs that allow a sub-millimeter-scale robot to traverse rough terrain at high speeds? How do you build lightweight motors to support that locomotion? And how do you develop sensing systems that enable a tiny robot to estimate its condition and environment?
Watch the video below to learn more.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
07/01/2025 | Simon Khesin -- Column: Driving InnovationMy first camera used Kodak film. I even experimented with developing photos in the bathroom, though I usually dropped the film off at a Kodak center and received the prints two weeks later, only to discover that some images were out of focus or poorly framed. Today, every smartphone contains a high-quality camera capable of producing stunning images instantly.
IBM, RIKEN Unveil First IBM Quantum System Two Outside of the U.S.
06/24/2025 | IBMIBM and RIKEN, a national research laboratory in Japan, today unveiled the first IBM Quantum System Two ever to be deployed outside of the United States and beyond an IBM Quantum Data Center.
Zero Defects International Partner, Epoch International, Announces Sale on Precision Control Systems
06/21/2025 | Zero Defects InternationalZero Defects International partner, EPOCH INTERNATIONAL, has announced significantly reduced overstock pricing for a large quantity of precision industrial motor, actuator, and sensor control systems.
INVISIO Secures SEK 145 Million Order for Dismounted Soldier Systems
06/21/2025 | INVISIOINVISIO has received a significant order from a new European customer for its dismounted soldier systems. Deliveries are to be completed during 2025.
MRSI Systems, LLC Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Suzhou LieQi in China
06/16/2025 | MRSI Systems, LLCMRSI Systems, LLC (a part of Mycronic Group), a global high-tech company that provides high precision production solution in electronics industry, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Suzhou LieQi Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (SZLQ) with Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court for infringement of MRSI Systems’ patent related to die bonder (Case No. (2025) YUE03minchu No. 7154).