Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on tiny batteries to power human-cell-sized robots. If you wondered how and why they are doing this, stay with us and we will explain. The MIT micro zinc-air batteries are about as thick and long as the diameter of a single hair on your head. This makes their dimensions between an incredible 0.01 and 0.02 millimeters each. But, is this really public money well spent?
Why Do We Need Micro Zinc-Air Batteries?
This is a good question, given the amount of public money going into this project. Our human bodies have abundant oxygen in their blood stream. If zinc-air batteries were small enough, then they could capture this life-giving gas and use it to oxidize their zinc.
The zinc-air batteries in hearing aids produce between 1.0 and 1.5 volts. Therefore, the MIT team are on the radar when they say their micro zinc-air batteries could deliver electricity within that range too. And that this power should be sufficient to energize small circuits, sensors, and actuators.
“We think this is going to be very enabling for robotics,” Michael Strano, Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT says in the press release that we link to below. “We’re building robotic functions onto the battery, and starting to put these components together into devices.”
What These Micro Components Might Do For Us
Michael Strano and his team at MIT have been working on tiny robots that could enter our bodies. But this is not a science fiction drama. Just imagine if they could deliver medication to precise locations, Medication that treated us immediately, and with precisely targeted doses.
The MIT micro zinc-air batteries should be sufficiently powerful to raise or lower miniature robotic arms. This, while simultaneously detecting chemicals in their environment, logging the event, and keeping track of time. We’ll be following this research, and watching for progress as it evolves.
More Information
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