Development of micro- and nanorobotics: A review

Abstract

Micro- and nanorobotic is an emerging field of research arising from the cross-fusion of micro/nano technology and robotics and has become an important part of robotics. Micro- and nanorobots have the advantages of small size, low weight, large thrust-to-weight ratio, high flexibility, and high sensitivity. Due to the characteristics distinguishing from macroscopic robots, micro- and nanorobots have stimulated the research interest of the scientific community and opened up numerous application fields such as drug delivery and disease diagnosis. In the past 30 years, research on micro- and nanorobots has made considerable progress. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the development of these robots. First, the application of the robots is reviewed. Then, the key components of the robots are discussed separately, covering their actuation, design, fabrication and control. In addition, from the perspectives of intelligence and sensing, clinical applications, materials and performance, the challenges that may be encountered in the development of such robots in the future are discussed. Finally, the entire article is summarized, and concepts for future micro- and nanorobots are described.