Swarm of Bacteria Builds Tiny Pyramid

[-Marduk- Profile]

Swarm of Bacteria Builds Tiny Pyramid

A robotic micro-assembly process relies on several thousand flagellated bacteria
acting as micro-workers to build a pyramidal structure.

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[Mob 2,0 Profile]

Computer-Controlled Swarm of Bacteria Builds Tiny Pyramid


Researchers at the NanoRobotics Laboratory of the École Polytechnique de Montréal, in Canada, are putting swarms of bacteria to work, using them to perform micro-manipulations and even propel microrobots.

Led by Professor Sylvain Martel, the researchers want to use flagellated bacteria to carry drugs into tumors, act as sensing agents for detecting pathogens, and operate micro-factories that could perform pharmacological and genetic tests.

They also want to use the bacteria as micro-workers for building things. Things like a tiny step pyramid.

The video below shows some 5000 bacteria moving like a swarm of little fish, working together to transport tiny epoxy bricks and assemble a pyramidal structure -- all in 15 minutes. The video was presented at IROS last year, along with a wonderfully titled paper, "A Robotic Micro-Assembly Process Inspired By the Construction of the Ancient Pyramids and Relying on Several Thousands of Flagellated Bacteria Acting as Workers."

The bacteria, of a type known as magnetotactic, contain structures called magnetosomes, which function as a compass. In the presence of a magnetic field, the magnetosomes induce a torque on the bacteria, making them swim according to the direction of the field. Place a magnetic field pointing right and the bacteria will move right. Switch the field to point left and the bacteria will follow suit.

Each bacterium has flagella capable of generating about 4 picoNewtons. It's a very small amount of thrust force, but put thousands of bacteria to work together and they can move mountains. Well, micro mountains.

Several research groups are trying to develop MEMS devices that emulate the propulsion mechanisms of bacteria. Martel asks, Why mimic the bacteria when you can use the little things themselves?

Martel and his colleagues developed an electronic microcircuit that contains both the bacteria and an array of conductors that produce magnetic fields. By carefully controlling which conductors are active, the microcircuit can make the bacteria move in specific directions. A computer and an optical microscope provide a feedback loop, tracking the motion of the bacteria and adjusting the conductors to achieve the desired behavior.

In addition to pyramid building, Martel's bacteria has done some other neat tricks, such as traveling through the bloodstreams of rats, steered by an MRI system, a la "Fantastic Voyage."

One of their current projects is developing an autonomous bacterial microrobot. They plan to use standard CMOS processes to create a chip containing both electronics and bacteria. The bacteria would reside in micro-reservoirs designed to generate thrust. For control, small conductors inside each reservoir would produce magnetic fields.

Several of these microrobots could then be used to perform tasks collectively, perhaps one day swimming inside our bodies, delivering drugs, detecting disease, and fixing an organ here, a blood vessel there. Who knew bacteria could be good robots?

UPDATE: If you're wondering which ancient pyramid inspired the researchers -- and is shown in the video on the left bottom corner -- it's the Djoser step pyramid, in Egypt, which the researcher note was "an important, initial milestone in the history of man-made structures."
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robo ... ny-pyramid

[Vulcanic Profile]

pretty cool, thanks for posting

[Mob 2,0 Profile]

hey maybe thats the way they build the pyramid back in the day
ancient astronaut theory

[Mob 2,0 Profile]

Nano, the next dimension (Film produced for European Commission)
[youtube]eCpkq_AeX50&feature=PlayList&p=B9FE5E582E6D14DE&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=47[/youtube]

[Blotto Profile]

i remember watching a few vids on this flagellum a wile back.. i remember them saying if it was scaled up it would make an efficient motor for a generator.

heres one of the vids. im sure the rest are knocking about on youtube.

[youtube]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FnSxRYx82Gk&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FnSxRYx82Gk&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]

[Sceptilief Profile]

Swarm of Bacteria Builds Tiny Pyramid

A robotic micro-assembly process relies on several thousand flagellated bacteria
acting as micro-workers to build a pyramidal structure.

Upload to Disclose.tv

Aliens, the NWO, WWWIII, and China don't scare me.

But this does.

It's chilling just to think of what this could do in the wrong hands.

Good post none the less, Marduk

[-Marduk- Profile]

Aliens, the NWO, WWWIII, and China don't scare me.

But this does.

It's chilling just to think of what this could do in the wrong hands.

Good post none the less, Marduk

Yeah man,...what´s next the scientists come up with?

[-Marduk- Profile]

Nanotech Toilet



A 15,000x magnified electron microsope picture entitled "Chisai Benjo" of a SUPER TINY TOILET won the "Most Bizarre" award in the 49th International Conference on Electron, Ion and Photo Beam Technology and Nanofabrication Bizarre/Beautiful Micrograph Contest. The tiny bit of plumbing was created and photographed by SII Nanotechnology of Japan.

[jetxvii]

Swarm of Bacteria Builds Tiny Pyramid

A robotic micro-assembly process relies on several thousand flagellated bacteria
acting as micro-workers to build a pyramidal structure.

Upload to Disclose.tv

so basically they are using a very crude system of space physics to fix a pyramid using bacteria run like a computer program?