Althouse: "You swallow the robot, and when it gets to your stomach the ice melts and the robot unfolds."

July 20, 2016

"You swallow the robot, and when it gets to your stomach the ice melts and the robot unfolds."

"Then, we can direct it to a very precise location.... They tried rice paper and sugar paper and hydrogel paper, all sorts of different materials.... We found that sausage casing has the best properties when it comes to folding and unfolding and controllability."

15 comments:

Gahrie said...: UH oh...the Muslims are going to hate this......; 7/20/16, 2:11 PM
mockturtle said...: Great idea! I'm sure a smaller device will eventually be available.; 7/20/16, 2:25 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: What were the people who invented and built these devices wearing, though?
Everyone knows fashion is more important than technology--has been and always will be.; 7/20/16, 2:30 PM
Gahrie said...: In the not to distant future, it will be commonplace to have various robots and nanites roaming around our bodies.; 7/20/16, 2:30 PM
rehajm said...: The pet market demand for this is incredible.; 7/20/16, 2:30 PM
MikeR said...: Wave of the future. Little robots clearing out your arteries, or zapping harmful bacteria...; 7/20/16, 2:31 PM
Fernandinande said...: the ice melts and the robot unfolds

The idea might have been culturally appropriated from Eskimos, who used bent whalebones frozen in meat, for polar bears to eat. The meat would defrost in the bear and the whalebones would "unfold" and poke holes in his tummy.; 7/20/16, 2:36 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Fantastic news but I guess this means they've given up on miniaturizing a submarine.; 7/20/16, 2:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Would it hurt to ingest a robot? Probably not, said research team member Steven Guitron, an MIT graduate student in mechanical engineering.

"I'm sure if you swallowed an ice cube accidently (sic), it's very similar," he said.

Ever try to get a small child, whose tummie hurts, to swallow anything? Much less an "ice cube" of unspecified size?; 7/20/16, 3:01 PM
Michael in ArchDen said...: Actually, Eric, the sub wasn't the problem...they just didn't like the results when they miniaturized Rachel Welch!; 7/20/16, 3:02 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Those Rock'em Sock'em robots don't go down easily.; 7/20/16, 3:04 PM
John henry said...: Will a miniature Raquel Welch be driving it?

I am not sure that this is technically a robot. The definition is pretty blurry these days. Strictly speaking a robot should be able to operate autonomously without external control.

This can be done via programming and/or sensors.

I think this is really more of a miniature waldo.

I think it gives a whole new flavor to "Where's waldo?" Wait a bit and he'll come out of your ass.

In all seriousness, whether this is a robot or something else, it is way cool and I love this kind of technology. I wish the inventors all the success in the world. It opens thousands of possibilities.

John Henry

John Henry; 7/20/16, 3:54 PM
Jon Ericson said...: OOPS! I posted a reply to a non entity. My bad.; 7/20/16, 6:09 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Sorry, Althouse!; 7/20/16, 6:10 PM
mikee said...: Sausage casing doing origami folds in my intestines is something I have suspected for a long time, but Meyer's and Southside Market and Opa here in Central Texas make such delicious sausages That I will put up with a bit of odd behavior after ingestion.; 7/22/16, 11:01 AM