Researchers develop swimming, body-exploring robot
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 8th 2006 9:31AM
posted Nov 8th 2006 9:31AM
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]
Yikes.. looks like the "bug" from the Matrix.
You beat me to it.
Comparative photo: http://apmatrix.free.fr/gallery/0349.jpg
Looks like a robotic Plankton from Spongebob.
I for one welcome our body cavity interfering overloards.
Overlords, rather. (They're taking over my synapses!)
hahaha...
2 tailed sperm..
Erm, "pint-sized"? Trying to imagine how you'd get a robot the size of a pint glass inside someone...
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?!
"Now, Dave, about that CPU upgrade I requested..."
Pint sized?!?!?! Ouch!
How's Dennis Quaid suppose to fit in that thing!
"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...
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)
Hmmm...Does it vibrate?