Engineers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed miniaturised warehouse logistics robots that could be repurposed for automated blood diagnostics and other biotechnology uses.

According to a report on the study published in Science Robotics, the ‘ferrobots’, two millimetre wide disc-shaped magnets, are designed to work together to move and manipulate droplets of blood or other fluids with precision by mobilising the chip’s magnetism.

To control the robots’ motion, electromagnetic tiles in the chip pull the ferrobots along desired paths, much like using magnets to move metal chess pieces from underneath a chess board.

For example, the robots can cleave one large droplet of fluid into smaller drops that are equal in volume for consistent testing. They can also move droplets into preloaded testing trays to check for signs of disease.

The ‘factory floor’ is an index card-sized chip, designed by the researchers, with internal structures that help manipulate fluid droplets transported by the robots.

Sam Emaminejad, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and the study’s corresponding senior author, said: “We were inspired by the transformational impact of networked mobile robot systems on manufacturing, storage and distribution industries, such as those used to efficiently sort and transport packages at Amazon warehouses.

“So, we set out to implement the same level of automation and mobility in a microfluidic setting. But our factory floor is much smaller, about the size of your palm, and our goods, the fluid droplets, are as small as a few tenths of a millimeter.”

The other co-lead authors of the study are UCLA graduate students Haisong Lin and Yilian Wang, in electrical and computer engineering, and bioengineering, respectively.

An application for a patent on the technology has been filed.

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