Scientists from Aarhus University and the University of Luxembourg have built a super-light, 3-D-printed frog robot that actually swims!
It weighs less than a gram and moves its legs using special artificial muscles powered by near-infrared light, letting it paddle 80mm in just under 2 minutes.
Stadler and Ryberg tweak design
The team, built by chemist Brigitte Stadler and Ph.D. student Cecilie Ryberg, had to tweak the design after early versions spun out of control.
By adjusting how the muscles and joints were connected, they got the little frog swimming straight.
They think their invention could lead to cool new toys or tiny robots for checking out flooded places, thanks to their unique way of printing muscles right into soft bodies.