"By considering the dynamics of the team, not just the individual, we are able to build a team of our 'microTug' robots that, like ants, are super-strong individually, but then also work together as a team," graduate student David Christensen told the New York Times.
The researchers, who have published their findings in a research paper called Let’s All Pull Together: Principles for Sharing Large Loads in Microrobot Teams, created a 12 gram micro robot which uses controllable adhesive, like ants do, to pull 2,000 times its weight.
They have also made a nine gram climbing robot which has sticky feet like a gecko lizard that enable it to walk up vertical surfaces. It can carry over a kilogram while walking up glass, a feat equivalent to a human climbing up a skyscraper while carrying an elephant.
