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LiveScience
LiveScience
Olivia Maule

Scientists build tiny robots without motors that can fly using sound waves alone

A close up of a green robot.

If you blow across the top of an empty bottle you'll hear a clear, steady note. Now, engineers have used that same concept to power tiny robots that move without a single motor on board.

These new devices are powered entirely by sound. When the right frequency is aimed at them, hollow chambers built into their structure resonate and push out a jet of air, generating enough thrust to steer a small boat or lift a tiny flying robot off the ground.

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