This study provides clear evidence that future of medicine will involve small robots. The research paper published in the journal Nature Communications claims that the small robots that can deliver drug and help doctors in medical operations will soon be a reality.

The researchers from EPFL, a Research institution in Lausanne, Switzerland, and ETHZ, a university in Zurich, have been developing a simple method to build small robots or micro-robots that are bio-inspired.

These robots that are equipped with advanced features have also created a forum for testing new robot designs. These micro-robots are quite different than conventional robots, as they are soft, flexible and motor-less.

Using biocompatible hydrogel, and magnetic nanoparticles, the researchers have created these robots. The nanoparticles have helped in providing the micro-robots a definite shape and made them swim and move when electromagnetic field is applied.

The researchers have shared that the process followed by them to create the tiny robot has been taken from the bacterium that causes the African trypanosomiasis. The robots mimic the bacterium that uses flagellum for propulsion.

It hides the same when enters into a host’s bloodstream. The researchers have tested many design samples to imitate the flagellum. Finally, they have been able to come up with a prototype having bacterium-like flagellum that allows it to swim.

The microbots involve many steps, as nanoparticles are placed in layers of biocompatible hydrogel. An electromagnetic field is applied to orientate nanoparticles at different parts of the microbots. Using electromagnetic field, the researchers make the robot swim.

Microbots are not done with preparation and are still in development. Therefore, they are no soon ready for real operations or drug delivery. Still, there are many factors that need to be assessed, including the possible side-effects of the microbots in patients.

According to a report in STGIST by Maria Asuncion, "This is a solid piece of proof that the future of medicine–or of diagnosis, treatments and prevention of diseases–will involve small robots. Scientist Selman Sakar of EPFL, a Research institution in Lausanne, Switzerland, who collaborated with Hen-Wei Huang and Bradley Nelson of ETHZ, a university in Zurich, has published a new study in the journal Nature Communications, and it claims that small robots that can deliver drug and assist doctors during medical operations are a step closer to reality."

The team says it is developing a simple and versatile method for building tiny robots–or microbots–that are bio-inspired, meaning they were inspired by nature’s work, and they are equipped with advanced features. In addition, they’ve also created a platform for the testing of several robots designs in which scientists also study different modes of locomotion for effectivity.

A report published in the Tech Times said, "A common feature of sci-fi is the usage of nanomachines — small machines/robots whose dimensions are measured nanometer — in order to provide various benefits to the human body. Thanks to a recently-published research paper, there is now strong evidence that suggests such machines — albeit not necessarily as small — won't be a thing of fiction for much longer."

So, what's the deal with these micro-robots? Researchers say the bio-inspired robots, which are soft, flexible and motor-less, were created by using biocompatible hydrogel and magnetic nanoparticles that serve two purposes. First, the nanoparticles give the robots their shape during the manufacturing process. Second, they react to electromagnetic fields, prompting them to swim and move whenever the fields are applied.