Semiconductor microelectronics are emerging as a powerful tool for building smart, autonomous robots too small to see with the naked eye. Yet a number of existing microrobot platforms, despite significant advantages in speed, robustness, power consumption, or ease of fabrication, have no clear path towards electronics integration, limiting their intelligence and sophistication when compared to electronic cousins. Here, we show how to upgrade a self-propelled particle into an an electronically integrated microrobot, reaping the best of both in a single design. Inspired by electrokinetic micromotors, these robots generate electric fields in a surrounding fluid, and by extension propulsive electrokinetic flows. The underlying physics is captured by a model in which robot speed is proportional to applied current, making design and control straightforward. As proof, we build basic robots that use on-board circuits and a closed-loop optical control scheme to navigate waypoints and move in coordinated swarms at speeds of up to one body length per second. Broadly, the unification of micromotor propulsion with on-robot electronics clears the way for robust, fast, easy to manufacture, electronically programmable microrobots that operate reliably over months to years.

翻译：半导体微电子技术正成为构建智能自主、肉眼不可见微型机器人的强大工具。然而，尽管现有多种微型机器人平台在速度、鲁棒性、功耗或制造简易性方面具有显著优势，却缺乏明确的电子集成路径，导致其智能性与复杂程度相较于电子化同类存在局限。本文展示了如何将自驱动粒子升级为电子集成微型机器人，在单一设计中融合两者的优势。受电动力学微电机启发，这些机器人在周围流体中产生电场，进而引发推进性电动力学流动。其底层物理机制可由一个模型描述：机器人速度与施加电流成正比，这使得设计与控制变得直观。作为验证，我们构建了基础机器人原型，利用板载电路与闭环光学控制方案实现航点导航，并以高达每秒一个身长的速度进行协调群集运动。总体而言，微电机推进技术与机器人本体电子学的融合，为制造鲁棒、高速、易于生产、可电子编程且能稳定运行数月乃至数年的微型机器人开辟了道路。