Sometimes strong things come in small packages, as Stanford University’s Biomimetic & Dexterous Manipulation Laboratory demonstrated in a recent project.

Inspired by the amazing strength of ants, the laboratory set out to pull a Chevrolet Volt using six microrobots weighing just 100 grams each.

 

The strength of the microbots was never an issue—each was capable of pulling an object weighing more than 2,000 times their weight. The project’s main modus operandi was, however, to discover the most effective way for the robots to pull the object as a team.

Some microrobots, according to the lab, move with strong, but short force. This abrupt movement isn’t favorable in a team setting because the motion of one robot is less likely to matchup with the others. Fast moving robots provide less power by themselves, but are capable of applying force for longer periods of time, making them a better fit for group work. Using all of this information, the laboratory conducted a series of experiments using the microrobots and concluded that the most effective method for a group effort would be a very long, very slow movement.

The six robots were able to pull the car using the laboratory’s method.

[CNET via Stanford University]