By Kim Berard

If you’ve ever seen a robot — wait, what?

We think we understand robotics, from old school Robot Robbie to a loved one R2-D2/C-3PO against acrobatics Boston Dynamics Robot or very human-like west worldnes. But you have to love those scientists: they keep coming up with new versions that break our stereotypes. Two of them in particular caught my eye, partly because both wanted a healthcare app, and partly because of the way they were described.

Tip: Marketers will do some work on the name.

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Let’s start with the robot called by its creator – A team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong – “Magnetic Slime Robots”, which some media call “Magnetic Stool Robots” (see what I mean?).It has what is called “viscoelasticity”, and its co-creator Professor Li Zhang explain Means “Sometimes it behaves like a solid, sometimes it behaves like a liquid… When you touch it quickly, it behaves like a solid. When you touch it lightly and slowly, it like a liquid”

The slime is made from a polymer called polyvinyl alcohol, borax and particles of neodymium magnets.The magnetic particles allow it to be controlled by other magnets, but are also toxic, so the researchers added a protective layer of silica that could theoretically allow it to be ingested (though Zhang warns: “Safety [would] It also largely depends on how long you keep them in your body. ”).

One of the great advantages of slime is that it can easily deform and pass through very tight spaces. The researchers believe it is capable of “grabbing solid objects, swallowing and transporting hazardous objects, human motion monitoring, and circuit switching and repair.” It even has self-healing properties.

Watch it in action:

In the video, among other tasks, the slime surrounds a small battery; the researchers saw someone use the slime to assist when swallowing it. “To avoid leakage of toxic electrolytes[ing] Come out, we might be able to encapsulate this slime robot with some kind of inert coating. “professor Zhang Say.

As fate would have it, news of the discovery was announced on April 1^stoneleading some to think it was an April Fool’s joke, researchers persist in It is not.Others use magnetic slime with shaking or venombut we have to hope we can make better use of it.

It’s not autonomous yet, so some would say it’s not actually a robot, but Zhang insists that “the ultimate goal is to deploy it like a robot.”

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If magnetic slime/stool robots aren’t for you, how about “magnetic tentacle robots” – which some people think “Snake” robot?This is from researchers Storm Lab at the University of Leeds. The mission of the STORM laboratory is to:

We strive to provide earlier diagnosis, broader screening, and more effective treatment for life-threatening diseases like cancer… We do this by creating affordable, intelligent robotic solutions that can improve The quality of life of people undergoing flexible endoscopy and laparoscopic surgery in conditional settings has limited access to medical infrastructure.

In this particular case, magnetic tentacle robots offer a smaller, more flexible and autonomous option, unlike traditional bronchoscopes that may be 3.5 to 4 mm in diameter and directed by a physician. Professor Pietro Valdastri, Director of the STORM Laboratory, explain:

A 2-mm-long magnetic tentacle robot, or catheter, whose shape can be magnetically controlled to conform to the anatomy of the bronchial tree, can reach most areas of the lung, and will be an important clinical tool in the investigation and treatment of possible lung cancer and other diseases. Lung disease.

Additionally, “our system uses an autonomous magnetic guidance system that eliminates the need to X-ray the patient during surgery.” Patient-specific routes based on preoperative scans will be programmed into the robotic system. It can then check for suspicious lesions and even deliver medication.

Dr Cecillia Pompili, a thoracic surgeon who was a member of their team, said: “This new technology will allow for more reliable and safer diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer without the use of additional X-rays.”

Watch it in action:

Magnetic Tentacle Robot – YouTube

The robot was tested on a 3D replica of the bronchial tree and will next be tested on the lungs of cadavers. It may take several years to reach a clinical setting. Among other things, the team has created prototypes of low-cost endoscopy and robotic colonoscopy systems.

Researchers get conclusion:

We demonstrate that the proposed method allows for less invasive navigation and more accurate localization than previously proposed magnetic catheterization techniques…We believe that non-invasive autonomous exploration of a wide range of anatomical features will be possible , with the potential to reduce trauma and improve diagnostic yield. “

“It’s creepy,” Professor Valdastry admit Washington post“But my goal…is to find a way to get inside the body in the least invasive way possible…depending on where the tumor is located, that may be the only way to get to the body [it] successfully. ”

Nitish V. Thakor, professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told post: I can imagine a future where a full-scale CAT scan of the lungs is done, and the surgeon sits on the computer, lays out a navigation path for this snake-like robot, and says, “Go get it.” Potential for use, eg in the heart.

Likewise, Mayo Clinic surgeon Dr. Janani S. Reisenauer declared: post“It would be revolutionary if it was a small, operational autonomous system that could go out and do something out there.”

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Personally, I still have hope Nanoparticles, but until we get there, these soft, nimble robots may be important. Sure, maybe people don’t want to be told they have to ingest magnetic slime — let alone magnetic feces — or have snakebots drop their throats, but it might be better than having a scope inserted or being cut open.

Researchers can keep working on robots; the rest of us can work on better names.

Kim was the former head of e-marketing for the Blues major program, the late and lamented editor tincture.ionow a regular THCB contributor.