Pangolins are fascinating creatures. This animal resembles a walking cone, as it is the only mammal completely covered with hard scales. Scales are made of keratin, just like our hair and nails. The scales overlap and are directly attached to the lower soft layer of the skin. This special arrangement allows the animals to curl up into a ball in case of danger.

While pangolins have many other unique features, researchers from the Physical Intelligence Unit of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart were particularly fascinated by how pangolins can fold their scaly bodies on the fly. Modeled on the animal, they designed a flexible robot made of soft and hard components that instantly transforms into a sphere like the animal – with the added ability of the robot to radiate heat when needed.

in a published research paper Nature CommunicationIn , the scientists present the design of a robot measuring no more than two centimeters in length and consisting of two layers: a soft polymer decorated with tiny magnetic particles and a rigid component made of metal elements in overlapping layers. Thus, although the robot is made of hard metal components, it is still soft and flexible for use inside the human body.

When the robot is exposed to a low-frequency magnetic field, the researchers can lift the robot up and move back and forth at will. Metal elements stick out like scales of an animal without affecting the surrounding tissues. When the robot is folded, it can carry particles such as drugs. It is assumed that such a small machine will one day pass, for example, through our digestive system.

The robot heats up to over 70°C due to embedded metal when exposed to a high frequency magnetic field. Thermal energy is used in a variety of medical procedures, such as treating thrombosis, stopping bleeding, and removing tumor tissue. Untethered robots that can move freely and also emit heat are rare, even if they are made of solid elements such as metal. Therefore, the pangolin robot is considered promising for modern medicine.

One day it will be able to reach even the tightest and most sensitive areas of the body in a minimally invasive and gentle way, and radiate heat when needed. This is a vision of the future. Just today, in a video, researchers demonstrate how they can flexibly control a robot through animal tissue and artificial organs. Source