Open research questions in Micro and Nano Robotics
80 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 238 Micro and Nano Robotics papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
Yet, how propagating signals and structural memory integrate to shape collective functions remains elusive.
How these collectives coordinate functions across vast spatiotemporal scales remains poorly understood.
However, applying antibiofilm robots under physiological conditions is limited by the conflicting demands of accessibility and driving force.
Liquid-bodied antibiofilm robot with switchable viscoelastic response for biofilm eradication on complex surface topographies · 2025 · DOIHowever, the existing methods are insufficient to produce robust connections and fail to tolerate harsh environments.
Reconfigurable robust microrobot collectives with large force output enabled by gradient magnetic fields · 2025 · DOIWhile it has been broadly investigated for over a decade both in vivo and in vitro, large-scale coherent flocking phases remain underexplored and have so far been mostly described as fluid.
We will also draw attention to current challenges and opportunities that have not yet been fully explored, in a landscape that is as exciting as it is changing.
Within their sand fly vector, Leishmania parasites undergo multiple developmental stages, including the understudied haptomonad form, which adheres to the sand fly stomodeal valve via a highly modified flagellum.
Discovery of a novel flagellar filament system underpinning Leishmania adhesion to surfaces · 2025 · DOIHowever, the role of the FAZ in adhesion and its relationship with the kinetoplastid-insect adhesion proteins (KIAPs) and the filamentous structures of the plaque itself remain unclear.
Discovery of a novel flagellar filament system underpinning Leishmania adhesion to surfaces · 2025 · DOIThe results reveal that metachronal motion alone is insufficient to enhance micromixing, thereby highlighting the need for integration with orientational asymmetry.
Magnetic Cilia with Programmable Beating Patterns for Vortex-Driven Mixing in Microfluidics · 2025 · DOIHowever, multirobot deployment in physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) tubular structures is limited by the lack of effective mechanisms for independent control of miniature magnetic soft robots.
However, the clinical applications of exosomes are limited by their restricted tropism.
Chemically Powered Nanomotors with Magnetically Responsive Function for Targeted Delivery of Exosomes · 2024 · DOIThe intimate connection between defect textures and active flow suggests that properties of active materials can be engineered by controlling defects, but design principles for their spatiotemporal control remain elusive.
The nonlinear dynamics of such active materials remains, however, poorly understood when they host zero-energy deformation modes and when noise is present.
Typically, such active mixtures involve not only conservative interactions between the constituents but also nonreciprocal couplings, whose full consequences for the collective behavior still remain elusive.
In particle-based models, an open question is whether differences in diffusivity can drive such demixing.
However, despite the field's tremendous progress, the actual universality class (UC) governing the scaling behavior of Viscek's "flocking" phase remains elusive.
The new micromotors hold considerable promise for full-scale treatment applications, only limited by our imagination.
Photophoretic MoS2–Fe2O3 Piranha Micromotors for Collective Dynamic Microplastics Removal · 2024 · DOIWhile the structural organization and molecular biology of neurons are well characterized, the physical process of axonal elongation remains elusive.
A brief discussion is included on potential synergistic effects between different external conditions, aiming to enhance efficiency-a relatively underexplored topic.
Recent Advances in Light-Driven Semiconductor-Based Micro/Nanomotors: Optimization Strategies and Emerging Applications · 2024 · DOIYet, the interplay between self-propulsion and anisotropic dipole-dipole interactions on dynamic self-assembly in three dimensions (3D) remains poorly understood.
While extensively studied in two-dimensional systems, it remains insufficiently explored in three-dimensional systems.
Kinetically blocked self-assembly of colloidal strings with tunable interactions in magnetic fields · 2024 · DOIThe study identifies a gap in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the enhanced motility observed in sperm bundles. The research aims to elucidate the role of flagellar synchronization in sperm cell motion.
The paper suggests hybrid workflows combining statistical decomposition (PCA), dynamical mode extraction (DMD), and model-based optimization (GA) as a promising strategy, but this integrated approach has not been explicitly implemented or validated in the presented study.
Future research could focus on developing more complex models of the behavior of microorganisms in various environments. Future research could also focus on investigating the behavior of microorganisms in different types of environments.
The paper identifies a gap in our understanding of the behavior of microorganisms in various environments, particularly in the context of taxis and kinesis. The paper also identifies a gap in our understanding of the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms.
Most-cited papers in Micro and Nano Robotics
- Magnetic Soft Materials and Robots · Chemical Reviews · 2022 · 871 citations
- Soft robotic origami crawler · Science Advances · 2022 · 441 citations
- Magnetic Actuation Methods in Bio/Soft Robotics · Advanced Functional Materials · 2020 · 325 citations
- An autonomously swimming biohybrid fish designed with human cardiac biophysics · Science · 2022 · 232 citations
- Independent Control Strategy of Multiple Magnetic Flexible Millirobots for Position Control and Path Following · IEEE Transactions on Robotics · 2022 · 210 citations
- Enzyme-Based Mesoporous Nanomotors with Near-Infrared Optical Brakes · Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2022 · 182 citations
- Magnetic soft microfiberbots for robotic embolization · Science Robotics · 2024 · 176 citations
- Reconfigurable Magnetic Slime Robot: Deformation, Adaptability, and Multifunction · Advanced Functional Materials · 2022 · 176 citations
- Dense active matter model of motion patterns in confluent cell monolayers · Nature Communications · 2020 · 159 citations
- Dexterous helical magnetic robot for improved endovascular access · Science Robotics · 2024 · 153 citations
Most recent work
- Cooperative motility emerges in crowds of T cells and prevents jamming · bioRxiv · 2026
- Amendment CLXII — SOL-Bracer Telekinetic Array (SBTA): Wearable Matter Manipulation via Resonant Magnetic Gradient Force · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026
- Clocked stepping of an artificial protein walker along a DNA track · Nature Nanotechnology · 2026
- Enhanced processivity and collective force production of kinesin-1 at low radial forces · eLife · 2026
- Integration of evolutionarily distinct motility systems enables tunable cell propulsion · bioRxiv · 2026
- Micro- and nanorobots for intelligent bone tissue engineering · Coordination Chemistry Reviews · 2026
- Photothermal micro/nanorobots in biomedicine · Coordination Chemistry Reviews · 2026
- Advection selects pattern in multistable emulsions of active droplets · Physical Review Research · 2026
- Microenvironment-responsive nanomotors enable enhanced biofilm penetration and immune reprogramming for peri-implantitis therapy · Journal of Nanobiotechnology · 2026
- Soft Colloidal Robots: Magnetically Guided Liquid Crystal Torons for Targeted Micro‐Cargo Delivery · Small · 2026
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