Shell-shaped micro-robots could be very interesting for medical technology because they can, for example, pick up a drug, transport it to a target location in the human body and release the drug there.

At the Institute of Computational Physics in Engineering, structures and mechanisms for moving and controlling microscopic robots are developed and tested. For this purpose, various closing and opening mechanisms as well as movement mechanisms are tested on microscopic and macroscopic prototypes. The microscopic prototypes are produced by laser lithography in cooperation with the von Freymann working group, while the macroscopic prototypes are cast in molds using silicone rubber. Iron particles can also be embedded here, which can then be controlled via a magnetic field.

The microscopic robots can be controlled by heat, among other things. If, for example, different process settings are used for the robot's clam shells produced by laser lithography, the thermal expansion coefficients can be changed. As a result, the two clam shells expand differently when the temperature increases, which can be used for the opening mechanism.

For the future implementation of the control mechanisms, thermal, optical, chemical, magnetic and mechanical properties of the materials, the manufacturing methods and movement mechanisms of the prototypes, as well as the control of the magnetic fields and the temperature are being investigated.