Dartmouth researchers built the world's "smallest untethered, controllable robot." The robot is approximately as wide as a human hair and about 250 micrometers (1/1000 of a millimeter) long.
From Dartmouth News:""It's tens of times smaller in length, and thousands of times smaller in mass than previous untethered microrobots that are controllable," says (researcher Bruce) Donald. "When we say 'controllable,' it means it's like a car; you can steer it anywhere on a flat surface, and drive it wherever you want to go. It doesn't drive on wheels, but crawls like a silicon inchworm, making tens of thousands of 10-nanometer steps every second. It turns by putting a silicon 'foot' out and pivoting like a motorcyclist skidding around a tight turn.'"
So how long until we have to fear the dreaded grey ooze?
Worlds Smallest RC Robot
Smallest RC Robot
