Tech
3D-printed microrobots adapt to diverse environments with modular design
Microrobots, small robotic systems that are less than 1 centimeter (cm) in size, could tackle some real-world tasks that cannot be completed by bigger robots. For instance, they could be used to monitor confined spaces and remote natural environments, to deliver drugs or to diagnose diseases or other medical conditions.
Researchers at Seoul National University recently introduced new modular and durable microrobots that can adapt to their surroundings, effectively navigating a range of environments. These tiny robots, introduced in a paper published in Advanced Materials, can be fabricated using 3D printing technology.
“Microrobots, with their insect-like size, are expected to make contributions in fields where conventional robots have struggled to operate,” Won Jun Song, first author of the paper, told Tech Xplore. “However, most microrobots developed to date have been highly specialized, tailored for very specific purposes, making them difficult to deploy across diverse environments and applications. Our goal was to present a new approach toward creating general-purpose microrobots.”

While developing their microrobots, Song and his colleagues drew inspiration from drones—unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—which can be tailored for a wide range of applications (e.g., photography/videography, package delivery, defense, etc.). Their objective was thus to develop adaptive microrobots that could be applied to different real-world problems.
“Our microrobot is composed of a main body and three types of modules,” explained Song. “The main body serves as the hub where all other modules are attached and is responsible for controlling the overall movement of the robot. The foot modules allow the microrobot to walk, not only on flat surfaces, but also on sand and even across water. The head modules enable real-time interaction with nearby robots or humans. Finally, the connecting modules make it possible for multiple microrobots to collaborate and operate together as if they were a single unit.”
To fabricate their microrobots’ individual components, the researchers used a custom-made multi-material 3D printer that they had created as part of their earlier studies. Notably, this 3D printer would enable the efficient mass-production of microrobot modules, allowing manufacturers to print up to eight identical units in a single run.
The team’s 3D-printing approach also makes it easy to tailor robots for specific tasks, by enabling the fabrication of specific modules or components on-demand to broaden their functionalities. In initial tests, the microrobots created by the researchers were found to reliably move in different settings, walking on smooth, rough and granular terrains, but also swimming in aquatic environments.
“Many researchers have focused on developing microrobots optimized for very specific purposes, and this approach has greatly contributed to creating highly efficient robots with excellent performance,” said Song. “However, for microrobots to reach commercialization—similar to how drones or Boston Dynamics’ Spot are now widely used in daily life—they must be capable of operating across a broader range of environments and applications.”
In the future, the modular microrobot design introduced by Song and his colleagues and their 3D printing strategy could contribute to the large-scale fabrication of tiny robotic systems tailored for specific purposes. Meanwhile, other research groups could draw inspiration from the team’s paper to develop other customizable microrobots that can operate in different environments.
“We now aim to use our newly developed multi-material printing technology and high-performance photocurable materials to develop other advanced robots and devices,” added Song.
Written for you by our author Ingrid Fadelli, edited by Stephanie Baum, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
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More information:
Won Jun Song et al, All‐3D‐Printed Multi‐Environment Modular Microrobots Powered by Large‐Displacement Dielectric Elastomer Microactuators, Advanced Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202507503
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3D-printed microrobots adapt to diverse environments with modular design (2025, October 16)
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Tech
Save up to $600 With These Mattress Firm Coupons and Deals
Chances are that when you google “mattress store near me,” one of the first results you will see is Mattress Firm. This brick and mortar titan carries both established mattress brands like Serta and Sealy, as well as many online brands, like Purple, letting you go see for yourself if it’ll be the mattress for you. And if you were looking for an excuse to hop in the car and head over, we have a Mattress Firm coupon available right now, as well as tons of Mattress Firm promo codes to save big on those big (and small) purchases. Fingers crossed that you could start sleeping better, potentially as soon as tonight.
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Take 20% Off With Military, Medical, Student, or Teacher Discounts
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Tech
Here’s Every Country Directly Impacted by the War on Iran
On February 28, United States and Israeli forces launched a series of strikes on Iran, kicking off turmoil in the Middle East.
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of the Department of Defense, said in a recent press conference that the operation could last as long as eight weeks. President Donald Trump himself said in a press conference on March 2 that the administration projected the operation would last four or five weeks but had “the capability to go far longer than that.”
This week Iran has responded in turn, attacking Israel, regional US embassies and military bases, and other sites across the Middle East. Iran has peppered neighboring countries with hundreds of drone and ballistic missile strikes since the operation began. While many of these have been intercepted, over a thousand people have died in the region and multiple buildings have been damaged, including luxury hotels in Dubai, US military bases and embassies, and international airports and marine ports.
Israel has also started bombarding Lebanon, following strikes at the country by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The Trump administration has given various, and at times seemingly contradictory, justifications for the military action, citing everything from potential “nuclear threat” to unverified claims that Iran attempted to interfere in the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections. As of March 5, Congress, which in the US has the sole power to declare war, has not done so.
The attacks have already disrupted supply chains, creating uncertainty for the oil and gas and fertilizer industries as key infrastructure has been targeted or shut down out of caution. Shipping traffic has halted along the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route.
As the conflict continues to escalate and expand, WIRED is tracking which countries have been affected and how. This article was last updated on March 5.
Iran
As of March 4, Iranian state media estimates that over 1,000 people have died in the country since the US-Israeli attacks began. Several schools and hospitals have been hit, according to Al Jazeera. The Israeli Air Force says it has struck Iran with over 5,000 munitions since the beginning of the operation.
Israel
Israel has faced retaliatory strikes from Iran. As of March 4, at least 11 people have died and over 40 buildings have been damaged in Tel Aviv, according to Al Jazeera.
Azerbaijan
On March 5, Azerbaijan said drone attacks launched from Iran had crossed over the country’s borders and damaged an airport building and two civilians. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said that the country’s military forces “have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures,” according to Reuters. Iran has denied responsibility for the attacks, according to Al Jazeera.
Bahrain
Missile and drone strikes have targeted different locations in Bahrain, including a US naval base, according to the BBC. On March 2, Amazon reported that a drone strike occurred in close proximity to one of its data centers in the country. CNBC later reported that Iranian state media said that Iran had targeted the data center because of the company’s support of the US military.
Cyprus
On March 2, a drone strike hit a British air base in Cyprus, according to Reuters. It caused limited damage and no casualties. Greece, the UK, and France have lent defensive support to the country, according to a Bloomberg report.
Iraq
Since February 28, there have been reports of multiple Iranian strikes aimed at a US military base near the Erbil International Airport, according to the nonprofit monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data.
Jordan
Jordan’s armed forces have intercepted dozens of missiles since the start of the conflict. At least one Iranian-backed militant group in Iraq has claimed responsibility, according to the Associated Press. On March 2, the US Embassy in the country announced that all its personnel had temporarily departed.
Kuwait
Kuwait has endured multiple waves of Iranian missile and drone attacks since February 28. On March 2, US Central Command said in a statement that three US fighter jets were accidentally struck down by Kuwaiti air defenses during an attack that included Iranian aircraft, missiles, and drones.
Lebanon
Israel attacked southern Lebanon after the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah launched rocket and drone attacks against them. Lebanon prime minister Nawaf Salam subsequently banned Hezbollah’s military and security activities, according to Al Jazeera.
Oman
Oman’s Duqm commercial port has been hit by several drone attacks, according to Al Jazeera. Omani authorities have said at least one oil tanker off the country’s port of Khasab in the Strait of Hormuz has been attacked.
Qatar
On March 2, QatarEnergy posted on X saying that it would halt production of liquified natural gas following a military attack on its operational facilities in the country. It did not attribute the attack to any particular country. On March 3, it posted again, saying that it would also stop the production of additional products, including urea, polymers, methanol, and aluminum.
Saudi Arabia
Infrastructure in Saudi Arabia has been targeted with projectiles. On March 3, the US embassy in Riyadh, the country’s capital, was damaged following an attack. On March 4, Reuters reported that one of the Saudi Aramco’s largest domestic refineries of Saudi Aramco, the majority state-owned oil company, was targeted by an attempted drone attack.
Syria
Tom Fletcher, the United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, says that civilians and civilian infrastructure were under attack in several countries including Syria.
Turkey
On March 4, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence announced that NATO had intercepted ballistic munitions launched from Iran, and that munition fragments had fallen into Hatay, a province that borders the Mediterranean Sea and Syria. Iran has denied any missile launch towards the country.
United Arab Emirates
As of March 4, UAE Ministry of Defence officials say that the country has intercepted hundreds of drone and missile attacks from Iran. Despite the relatively high rate of interceptions, debris created by the fallout has still damaged areas of the country. In Dubai, the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab was struck by debris, as well as the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island home to high-end hotels and apartments. On March 2, Amazon Web Services announced that two of its facilities were directly struck in the country, causing “elevated error rates and degraded availability.”
Countries Evacuating Citizens
On March 2, US assistant secretary of state for consular affairs Mora Namdar posted on X urging Americans to depart from several middle eastern countries due to “serious safety risks.” On March 4, Reuters reported that the US military has offered seats on military transport planes to Americans trying to leave the region.
Over a dozen countries have announced that they will be evacuating their citizens from the area or sponsoring repatriation flights, including the UK, Ireland, Germany and Italy.
Tech
OpenAI Had Banned Military Use. The Pentagon Tested Its Models Through Microsoft Anyway
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is still in the hot seat this week after his company signed a deal with the US military. OpenAI employees have criticized the move, which came after Anthropic’s roughly $200 million contract with the Pentagon imploded, and asked Altman to release more information about the agreement. Altman admitted it looked “sloppy” in a social media post.
While this incident has become a major news story, it may just be the latest and most public example of OpenAI creating vague policies around how the US military can access its AI.
In 2023, OpenAI’s usage policy explicitly banned the military from accessing its AI models. But some OpenAI employees discovered the Pentagon had already started experimenting with Azure OpenAI, a version of OpenAI’s models offered by Microsoft, two sources familiar with the matter said. At the time, Microsoft had been contracting with the Department of Defense for decades. It was also OpenAI’s largest investor, and had broad license to commercialize the startup’s technology.
That same year, OpenAI employees saw Pentagon officials walking through the company’s San Francisco offices, the sources said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity as they aren’t licensed to comment on private company matters.
Some OpenAI employees were wary about associating with the Pentagon, while others were simply confused about what OpenAI’s usage policies meant. Did the policy apply to Microsoft? While sources tell WIRED it was not clear to most employees at the time, spokespeople from OpenAI and Microsoft say Azure OpenAI products are not, and were not, subject to OpenAI’s policies.
“Microsoft has a product called the Azure OpenAI Service that became available to the US Government in 2023 and is subject to Microsoft terms of service,” said spokesperson Frank Shaw in a statement to WIRED. Microsoft declined to comment specifically on when it made Azure OpenAI available to the Pentagon, but notes the service was not approved for “top secret” government workloads until 2025.
“AI is already playing a significant role in national security and we believe it’s important to have a seat at the table to help ensure it’s deployed safely and responsibly,” OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said in a statement. “We’ve been transparent with our employees as we’ve approached this work, providing regular updates and dedicated channels where teams can ask questions and engage directly with our national security team.”
The Department of Defense did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
By January 2024, OpenAI updated its policies to remove the blanket ban on military use. Several OpenAI employees found out about the policy update through an article in The Intercept, sources say. Company leaders later addressed the change at an all-hands meeting, explaining how the company would tread carefully in this area moving forward.
In December 2024, OpenAI announced a partnership with Anduril to develop and deploy AI systems for “national security missions.” Ahead of the announcement, OpenAI told employees that the partnership was narrow in scope and would only deal with unclassified workloads, the same sources said. This stood in contrast to a deal Anthropic had signed with Palantir, which would see Anthropic’s AI used for classified military work.
Palantir approached OpenAI in the fall of 2024 to discuss participating in their “FedStart” program, an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed to WIRED. The company ultimately turned it down, and told employees it would’ve been too high-risk, two sources familiar with the matter tell WIRED. However, OpenAI now works with Palantir in other ways.
Around the time the Anduril deal was announced, a few dozen OpenAI employees joined a public Slack channel to discuss their concerns about the company’s military partnerships, sources say and a spokesperson confirmed. Some believed the company’s models were too unreliable to handle a user’s credit card information, let alone assist Americans on the battlefield.
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