Taking advantage of a phenomenon known as emergent behavior in the microscale, MIT engineers have designed simple microparticles that can collectively generate complex behavior, much the same way that a colony of ants can dig tunnels or collect food.

Working together, the microparticles can generate a beating clock that oscillates at a very low frequency. These oscillations can then be harnessed to power tiny robotic devices, the researchers showed.

“In addition to being interesting from a physics point of view, this behavior can also be translated into an onboard oscillatory electrical signal, which can be very powerful in microrobotic autonomy,” says Jingfan Yang, a recent MIT Ph.D. recipient and one of the lead authors of the new study. “There are a lot of electrical components that require such an oscillatory input.” 

The particles used to create the new oscillator perform a simple chemical reaction that allows the particles to interact with each other through the formation and bursting of tiny gas bubbles. Under the right conditions, these interactions create an oscillation similar to a ticking clock, beating at intervals of a few seconds.

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