Skip to main content

Purdue’s microbots are designed to wander around inside your body

All Terrain Microbots

“All-Terrain Microbots” sounds like it should be the name of a 1980s cartoon, accompanied by its own toy line and sugary breakfast cereal. In fact, it’s a description of the tiny microscale magnetic tumbling robots being created by researchers at Purdue University. And don’t laugh, because they may one day just save your life!

Recommended Videos

Sized 400 by 800 millionths of a meter, making them smaller than a pinhead, the dumbell-shaped microbots move by tumbling end-over-end. This unusual form of locomotion is powered by magnetic fields, and makes it possible for the microbots to travel across uneven surfaces like bumps and trenches.

“What is neat about our design is that we have come up with a way to tailor the magnetic properties of the robot that will cause it to tumble in different ways when subjected to a rotating magnetic field,” David Cappelleri, an associate professor in Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering and director of Purdue’s Multi-Scale Robotics and Automation Lab, told Digital Trends. “This allows it to tumble over different types of rough, bumpy, and sticky surfaces in both dry and wet conditions. Getting a microrobot to traverse terrains like this is a challenge since surface forces like friction and stiction dominate at the microscale. By tumbling the robot over these different terrains, we avoid having to try and pull or push the robot around and have it getting stuck.”

Purdue University
Purdue University

According to Cappelleri, the robots have been specifically designed for medical use, with a hollow midsection area that could one day be used to carry a drug payload for delivery in the body. Because commercial MRI machines in hospitals already generate magnetic fields, these could be programmed to apply rotating magnetic fields able to drive the robots to their target location where the drug is to be administered.

So will the doctors of the future be telling patients to “take two all-terrain microbots and call them in the morning” then? Possibly, but there is still work to be done before we reach that point.

“Recently, we have been focused on the fundamental research side of things to obtain the best locomotion of the robots in different terrains and environmental conditions,” Cappelleri said. “Next, we plan to focus on closed-loop control of the robots as well as different payload designs. We are interested in commercializing these in the future, but we still have these and some other basic research questions to answer first.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Micromachines.

Luke Dormehl
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more
Charlie Cox singles out his least favorite Daredevil: Born Again episode
Charlie Cox in Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was largely reconceived after the 2023 actor and writer strikes. Dario Scardapane -- a veteran of The Punisher series on Netflix -- was brought in to be the new showrunner and he made a lot of changes to the series that were well-received. However, there's one episode that Scardapane didn't really change at all, and it happens to be the least favorite episode of Daredevil: Born Again's leading man, Charlie Cox.

During an appearance on The Playlist, Cox noted that he wasn't very fond of the season's fifth episode, "With Interest," which was a largely standalone episode that featured his character, Matt Murdock, in a bank during a hostage crisis.

Read more