Microscopic robot perched on a fingerprint ridge, illustrating its sub‑salt size

Microscopic Autonomous Robots Smaller Than a Grain of Salt

Have you ever looked at a single grain of salt and thought, “I bet I could fit a whole computer in there”? Probably not. But scientists at the University of Pennsylvania just did exactly that—and then they made it move. In what feels like a massive leap toward the sci-fi future we’ve been promised, researchers have developed microscopic robots that aren’t just small; they are autonomous. They can think, sense their environment, and make decisions without being tethered to a giant control system. ...

January 6, 2026 · 3 min · TechLife