The Pill Robot Is Coming
“The idea that you could repair a human body by swallowing something, instead of making cuts, is amazing,” says innovator Daniela Rus.
This robot unfolds like an origami after it’s swallowed.
Courtesy Melanie Gonick/MITThis article is for subscribers only.
Innovator Daniela Rus
Age 53
Director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Form and function
Squeezed into a pill, this robot unfolds like an origami after it’s swallowed. It can be guided with a tiny magnet to remove a foreign object from the stomach or treat a wound by administering medication.
Origin
Last summer, Rus and her colleagues began working to adapt an earlier foldable robot for medical use.
Insertion
Rus’s team places the accordion-shaped robot into an inch-long, 0.09-ounce pill, which dissolves in the stomach in a minute or two. The robot then expands to 1.4 in. by 0.7 in. by 0.3 in.