Microrobots with size ranging from several millimeters down to tens of microns or beyond have the potential to revolutionize many aspects of medicine.
Untethered, wirelessly controlled and powered devices could make existing therapeutic and diagnostic procedures less invasive and will enable new procedures never before possible.
The aim of this presentation is to provide a survey of the major opportunities for microrobotics in the medical field and to present the main challenges when developing a microrobot, essentially related to actuation and powering issues. Intrinsic limitations of powering and active locomotion at the microscale will be provided, together with an analysis of actuation solutions completely artificial or partially biohybrid.