A convoy of magnetic millirobots transports endoscopic instruments for minimally-invasive surgery

Small-scale robots offer significant potential in minimally-invasive medical procedures. Due to the nature of soft biological tissues, however, robots are exposed to complex environments with various challenges in locomotion, which is essential to overcome for useful medical tasks. A single mini-robot often provides insufficient force on slippery biological surfaces to carry medical instruments, such as a fluid catheter or an electrical wire. Here, for the first time, we report a team of millirobots (TrainBot) that can generate around two times higher actuating force than a TrainBot unit by forming a convoy to collaboratively carry long and heavy cargos. The feet of each unit are optimized to increase the propulsive force around three times so that it can effectively crawl on slippery biological surfaces. A human-scale permanent magnetic set-up is developed to wirelessly actuate and control the TrainBot to transport heavy and lengthy loads through narrow biological lumens, such as the intestine and the bile duct. We demonstrate the first electrocauterization performed by the TrainBot to relieve a biliary obstruction and open a tunnel for fluid drainage and drug delivery. The developed technology sheds light on the collaborative strategy of small-scale robots for future minimally-invasive surgical procedures.