In a joint advance from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan, engineers have designed the smallest fully programmable autonomous robots ever built – machines...

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and the University of Michigan have created the world's smallest autonomous and programmable robots. Each measuring about 200 micrometers wide – roughly twice the width of a human hair – these machines can perceive their surroundings, "think," and act independently without external instructions. According to their developers, such technology could one day monitor the health of individual cells in our bodies or deliver medication to specific locations to treat diseases.

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and the University of Michigan have created the world's smallest autonomous and programmable robots. Each measuring about 200 micrometers wide – roughly twice the width of a human hair – these machines can perceive their surroundings, "think," and act independently without external instructions. According to their developers, such technology could one day monitor the health of individual cells in our bodies or deliver medication to specific locations to treat diseases.