Researchers develop swimming, body-exploring robot

Researchers at Technion's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Israel look to finally be seeing some results from their crack Innerspace department, recently announcing that they've developed a pint-sized robot that can swim its way through heretofore inaccessible areas of the human body. The bot uses two tails to propel itself along, carrying a camera with it to document the picturesque journey -- eventually, the researches see the robot able to deliver medication straight to the source and even take biopsies. Of course, this isn't the first attempt to chart a course through your various bodily passages. Pill-based camera exploration has been around for a comparatively long time, but depends on your body's natural gastrointestinal movements to squeeze its way through your innards. More recently, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University developed a six-legged bugbot that can crawl through your intestines and be remotely controlled to ensure a thorough looksee. Technion's bot still looks to be quite a ways off from catching a ride in your spinal fluid, however, with the project's team leader estimating that it'll be a few years before they have a completed product.

[Via Medgadget]

[Jason @ Nov 8th 2006 9:40AM]

Yikes.. looks like the "bug" from the Matrix.

[Christian Martin @ Nov 8th 2006 10:01AM]

You beat me to it.

Comparative photo: http://apmatrix.free.fr/gallery/0349.jpg

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 8th 2006 9:40AM]

Looks like a robotic Plankton from Spongebob.

[Revels @ Nov 8th 2006 9:56AM]

I for one welcome our body cavity interfering overloards.

[Revels @ Nov 8th 2006 9:57AM]

Overlords, rather. (They're taking over my synapses!)

[retsel @ Nov 8th 2006 10:04AM]

hahaha...
2 tailed sperm..

[Nige @ Nov 8th 2006 10:24AM]

Erm, "pint-sized"? Trying to imagine how you'd get a robot the size of a pint glass inside someone...

[josh @ Nov 8th 2006 10:57AM]

In my RSS reader it only displayed Researchers develop swimming.

I thought great, what company patented swimming and who do I have to pay royalties to now?!

[John Stracke @ Nov 8th 2006 11:41AM]

"Now, Dave, about that CPU upgrade I requested..."

[TIMMAH! @ Nov 8th 2006 11:49AM]

How's Dennis Quaid suppose to fit in that thing!

[HumanClone1stGen @ Nov 8th 2006 12:02PM]

"Jason @ Nov 8th 2006 9:40AM

Yikes.. looks like the "bug" from the Matrix."

My thoughts exactly. Images of my mouth melting comes to mind...

[Lewis @ Nov 8th 2006 12:09PM]

Pint sized?!?!?! Ouch!

[Colin @ Nov 8th 2006 12:25PM]

If Raquel Welch was still hot this wouldn't be so bad....

Yes...I'm THAT old.

(reference for the youngins: The woman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raquel_Welch
The movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage)

[Gingembre @ Nov 8th 2006 2:50PM]

Hmmm...Does it vibrate?