♦ Cornell University researchers (America) in physics and engineering have developed the tiniest walking robot ever.

♦ Designed to interact with visible light waves and move on its own, it can navigate to precise locations, like within a tissue sample.

♦ This tiny robot can then capture images and measure forces at the scale of the body's smallest structures.

♦ Cornell scientists already hold the world record for the smallest walking robot at 40-70 microns, and have now developed even tinier diffractive robots measuring just 5 to 2 microns. 

♦ The robots, controlled by magnets in a pinching motion, can move like inchworms on solid surfaces and swim through fluids.

♦ This combination of manoeuvrability, flexibility, and sub-diffractive optical technology represents a major advancement in robotics, according to the researchers.