Robots in your guts ride your slime

Imagine a extremely super-deformed Gundam riding around in your belly to help doctors with their diagnoses. It sounds gross, but compared to the alternatives, it might actually be kind of cool.

Dutch scientists are trying to develop a robot that can assist in performing colonoscopies without giving a patient even more undue pain from the procedure (which we will not explain here for the sake of keeping the science blog kid-friendly). This robot is designed to glide across the mucus of the intestine rather than latch onto your insides and apply pressure to move forward. Dimitra Dodou from the Delft University of Technology says it should “reduce the risk of damaging the gut or causing pain because the pressure can be spread over a larger area.” No doubt it will.

To perform this type of movement, Dodou and company are testing a polymer that adheres to the proteins of the mucus in our gut. Much like a snail, adding water will loosen the grip, letting the polymer (and the robot) move through your intestines.

Let’s hope Bandai capitalizes on the technology for a new game that features little robots fighting in our body to keep us alive. Till then, these guys will have to do.

Imagine a extremely super-deformed Gundam riding around in your belly to help doctors with their diagnoses. It sounds gross, but compared to the alternatives, it might actually be kind of cool.

Dutch scientists are trying to develop a robot that can assist in performing colonoscopies without giving a patient even more undue pain from the procedure (which we will not explain here for the sake of keeping the science blog kid-friendly). This robot is designed to glide across the mucus of the intestine rather than latch onto your insides and apply pressure to move forward. Dimitra Dodou from the Delft University of Technology says it should “reduce the risk of damaging the gut or causing pain because the pressure can be spread over a larger area.” No doubt it will.

To perform this type of movement, Dodou and company are testing a polymer that adheres to the proteins of the mucus in our gut. Much like a snail, adding water will loosen the grip, letting the polymer (and the robot) move through your intestines.

Let’s hope Bandai capitalizes on the technology for a new game that features little robots fighting in our body to keep us alive. Till then, these guys will have to do.