Researchers 3D print robot the size of a single-cell organism — devices move and navigate even without a ‘brain,’ uses their shape and the environment to get going

3D printed microbot.

Researchers from Leiden University in the Netherlands successfully 3D printed a microscopic robot that moves around like a single-celled organism, despite not having a brain. According to the institution, these robots measure between 0.5 and 5 micrometers and can travel at speeds of 7 micrometers per second. By comparison, human hair is about 70 to 100 micrometers thick, showing how tiny these 3D robots are. The university also noted that these devices are printed at the very edge of what is technically possible at the moment.