研究人员开发出迄今最小的全自主机器人，尺寸仅为200×300×50微米，最长边约0.3毫米，明显低于1毫米阈值。该机器人小于一粒盐，能够在水中感知环境、做出决策并自主移动。单个制造成本约为0.01美元，可在无电缆或磁场控制的情况下运行。其推进方式不依赖脆弱的微型肢体，而是适应微观尺度下以黏滞力为主导的物理条件，实现长期稳定运行。
该机器人通过在液体中产生电场推动带电粒子运动，进而拖拽周围水分子形成水流，实现无机械部件的推进。其由LED光源供能，最快可在1秒内移动一个自身长度，并可通过调节电场方向执行复杂路径或群体协同行为。由于没有运动部件，其耐久性极高，可连续游动数月。研究人员称，该系统将自主机器人的尺度缩小至传统机器人的万分之一。
实现真正自治的关键在于计算与供能。机载太阳能电池仅产生约75纳瓦功率，不到智能手表功耗的十万分之一。研究团队设计了超低电压电路，并将复杂程序压缩为单一指令以适应极小存储空间。机器人集成处理器、存储器和传感器，并通过将温度数据编码为“舞蹈动作”进行信息传递。这是首次在小于1毫米的机器人上集成完整计算系统。
Researchers have developed the smallest fully autonomous robot to date, measuring just 200×300×50 micrometers, with a longest side of about 0.3 millimeters, well below the 1-millimeter threshold. Smaller than a grain of salt, the robot can sense its environment, make decisions, and move independently in water. Unit production cost is about $0.01, and it operates without wires or magnetic control. Its design avoids fragile micro-limbs, adapting to physics dominated by viscosity rather than inertia at microscopic scales.
The robot moves by generating an electric field in liquid, pushing charged particles that drag surrounding water molecules to create flow, enabling propulsion without mechanical parts. Powered by LED light, it can travel one body length in up to one second and change direction by adjusting the electric field, allowing complex paths or coordinated group movement. With no moving components, durability is extremely high, enabling continuous swimming for months. Researchers say this shrinks autonomous robots to one ten-thousandth the size of conventional machines.
True autonomy depends on computation and power. Onboard solar cells generate only about 75 nanowatts, less than one hundred-thousandth of a smartwatch’s power use. The team designed ultra-low-voltage circuits and compressed complex programs into a single instruction to fit minimal memory. The robot integrates a processor, memory, and sensors, and communicates data by encoding temperature readings into “dance-like” movements. This marks the first complete computer integrated into a robot smaller than 1 millimeter.