--- title: "Relatable: This Tiny Robot Is Powered by Alcohol" description: "A team of researchers have built a tiny microbot that weighs less than a gram and can run entirely on methanol, a type of alcohol." date: "2020-08-20" modified: "2020-08-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-powered-alcohol" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "alcohol" - "methanol" - "microrobots" - "the digest" --- # Relatable: This Tiny Robot Is Powered by Alcohol ![A team of researchers have built a tiny microbot that weighs less than a gram and can run entirely on methanol, a type of alcohol.]() *\Image: Yang et al.\* ## RoBeetle A team of researchers have built a tiny microbot that runs entirely on methanol, a type of alcohol. The robot, dubbed RoBeetle, weighs less than a tenth of a gram and doesn't even need any other external power sources such as cables or electromagnetic fields to crawl along. "The energy density of batteries is very low, so we needed new sources of power," Nestor Perez-Arancibia at the University of Southern California, the designer of the robot, [told *New Scientist*](). "We were able to make it so light and small because we’re not relying on batteries." https://youtu.be/OmH0CLXIL-U ## Shots Shots Here's how it works: as the methanol vapor of the fuel burns, tiny nickel-titanium alloy wires — the robot's artificial muscles — repeatedly expand and then contract as they cool, causing it to crawl forward. According to the [researchers' paper]() published in *Science Robotics* on Wednesday, the RoBeetle is a real powerhouse. It can lug 2.6 times its own weight. It can also carry an additional 95 milligram fuel tank, allowing it to crawl along for up to two hours. ## Taking Flight The team is now trying to figure out how to keep it running for even longer. They're also seeing if they can attach wings to the tiny robot with funding from DARPA. "We want to create the first completely autonomous flying robot at beetle scale," Perez-Arancibia told *New Scientist*. **READ MORE:** [Watch a tiny robot powered by alcohol]() \[*Science*\] **More on robots:** *[US Army Scientist Brags That He’s Trying to Build the Bad Guy From “Terminator 2”]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()