Heart muscle tissue powers new body roaming robots

While we've seen a microbot that crawls across hearts, a new creature has been developed by gurus at Chonnam National University in South Korea that actually gets its energy from the heart. Reportedly, the team created the robot by "growing heart muscle tissue from a rat onto tiny robotic skeletons made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)," and the result is an E-shaped creature that can move its own legs through the "relaxing and contracting of heart muscle cells." Currently, the bot has been clocked scurrying along at a stagering 100 micrometers-per-second, and while it isn't apt to win any races, it could be loosed within the body to "clear blocked tubes or arteries" in the future. Check the video of this wild guy in action right here.

[Via Primidi]

[Michael @ Sep 4th 2007 3:21AM]

It's a great news for medication, especially for old people.

[Keith @ Sep 4th 2007 3:55AM]

Another great step forward in science.

Great job!

[supermeerkat @ Sep 4th 2007 4:41AM]

Wow! Those wacky South Koreans are always inventing cool stuff! Do they ever sleep?

[AndrewP @ Sep 4th 2007 4:44AM]

Some of the current tech. is getting just a wee bit creepy.

[karthik @ Sep 4th 2007 5:13AM]

thats cool!

[Revels @ Sep 4th 2007 5:57AM]

When Heart Robots Attack

[Daniel Hull @ Sep 4th 2007 8:33AM]

I'm in ur body, uncloggin ur tubez.

[Irwin @ Sep 4th 2007 10:06AM]

Genius.

[BrotherhoodOfNod @ Sep 4th 2007 9:32AM]

Robotic skeletons covered with rat tissue, which invade your heart and leech its energy?

It's like something from a cheesy 70s sci-fi/horror movie o_0

[Rahul @ Sep 4th 2007 10:40AM]

Holy crap!

I feel like we are getting much closer to the world of Neal Stephenson!

(Reference to The Diamond Age, Or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer)

[granny down east @ Sep 4th 2007 11:02AM]

Wait for the inevitable Roto-Rooter lawsuit.

[Dan @ Sep 4th 2007 12:10PM]

this gives a whole new meaning to doing E

[G @ Sep 7th 2007 8:48AM]

aaaaagh, I swear engadget is just making a conscious effort to use the word "loosed" as much as possible after reader reactions to the first time it did.
Anyway these robots sound awesome, can't watch the video at work though >_>
and in response to supermeerkat's comment, south Koreans never sleep, they just occasionally reboot their brains :P