Hardware Podcasts

75. Size Matters: Tiny Biomimicry Leads to Big Breakthroughs

The Next Byte Podcast · 21 Jun 2022 · 23m

What this episode covers

Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss biomimicry breakthroughs from the University of Washington and Harvard, focusing on dandelion-inspired sensors and microscale robotic cilia. The University of Washington team created 24-milligram solar-powered sensors using Microchip's A20 Tiny processor and Kapton parachutes to deploy environmental monitoring networks via drones. Meanwhile, Harvard researchers developed self-propelled cilia from photo-responsive liquid crystal elastomers, enabling complex, programmable motion for applications in drug delivery and physical encryption.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
University of Washington, Microchip, Harvard
Chips
A20 Tiny
Materials
Kapton, liquid crystal elastomer

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