Liquid-metal soft electronics coupled with multi-legged robots for targeted delivery in the gastrointestinal tract

Untethered miniature robots enable targeted delivery and therapy deep inside the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in a minimally invasive manner. By combining actuation systems and imaging tools, significant progress has been made toward the development of functional microrobots. However, vision-based control of microrobots in the GI tract—with lots of biological barriers, intestinal peristalsis, and highly viscous mucus—remains challenging. To enhance obstacle-crossing ability and long-lifespan tracking, we report a liquid-metal soft-electronics-coupled multi-legged robot that can move and sense remotely by coupling magnetic and radio frequency effects for targeted delivery in the GI tract. Under the actuation of an external magnetic field, the robot can achieve multi-mode locomotion, such as curling and tumbling, floating up and diving, and crawling, with its position readable by using a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader. Therefore, we anticipate that this kind of soft and flexible robot exhibits great potential for targeted delivery in the gastrointestinal tract.