By Peter Weiss
A physicist’s hunch about snail locomotion is inspiring a new way to make robots–from goop. Experiments show that matchstick-size slivers of hydrogel, the type of material used for soft contact lenses, can ooze along like snails, slither like snakes, and creep ahead like inchworms.
Greatly miniaturized robots made of hydrogel might someday shimmy across the surfaces of microchips, acting as tiny delivery carts or movable barriers. Some incarnations might glide through a person’s intestines or other internal cavities collecting medical data or dispensing medication, the experimenters say.