Tiny microscopic machines can now change their shape or walk in different directions using the exact same magnetic signal.
These adaptive machines utilize multistable energy landscapes to execute multiple different functions based on their internal state. This design allows a single external field to trigger varied behaviors without needing complex, individual controls. Most micro-robots are currently limited to doing one thing when a signal is sent. This breakthrough gives these machines a form of 'memory' that dictates how they respond to their environment. This could lead to smart medical robots that can swim through the blood and then transform to deliver a drug once they reach a target. It moves us one step closer to truly autonomous, microscopic medical tools.
Multistable energy landscapes for adaptive microscopic machines
arXiv · 2605.03077
The past few years have seen great strides in our ability to build synthetic microscopic machines. However, the function of such machines is often controlled directly by externally applied fields that deterministically specify the instantaneous machine dynamics. A crucial step towards machines that can respond adaptively to changes in their environment is the ability to program multiple functions that actuate under the same external driving field, so that their internal state dictates which func