Tummy problems? Just swallow this stomach-repairing origami robot made of meat
A chunk of meat that bursts open once eaten and unleashes a robot that crawls around inside of your stomach sounds like something from a horror movie. But the real-life stomach-roaming meat robot actually means no harm—on the contrary, it was designed to doctor your stomach troubles from the inside.
On Thursday, researchers at MIT revealed the origami meat robot that they designed to patch stomach wounds, deliver medicine, and remove dangerous foreign objects that patients may have accidentally swallowed. In early simulations with pig esophagus and gut tissue, the robot traveled down to the stomach in an ice capsule that melted along the way. Once there, the robot unfolded and could be steered around the stomach using external magnets. In a demonstration video provided by MIT News, the researchers show that the robot can move a button battery in their simulation stomach. The researchers presented their robot this week at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
