A Tiny Robot Runs On Liquid Power

This beetle bot may weigh only as much as three grains of rice but to crawl it needs a tiny yet mighty source of fuel.

Instead of tethering it to a power source, scientists stowed methanol inside the robot’s body, where it powers an artificial micromuscle.

That self-contained fuel could be a crucial advance in creating bots that can swarm into tight spaces during search-and-rescue missions.