Worm-inspired robot crawls through intestines

"We turned to biological inspiration because, in the peculiar environment of the gut, traditional forms of robotic locomotion don't work," says Arianna Menciassi, a roboticist from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy. …

A pill capable of wriggling through the gut on its own could be a valuable tool, says Andrew Gardner [UCL Ear Institute].

"Capsules can show you places nothing else can, but you can't stop or slow down when you get to a point of interest," he told 'New Scientist'. …

"Being able to have some control, perhaps even to turn around and go to look in a crevice that would otherwise be missed, would be very valuable."

But Gardner says the system would need careful testing. "If something this complicated goes wrong, it could be very hard to get out." He believes it could take years of laboratory and animal testing before the robot is ready for clinical use. …

Tom Simonite, NewScientist.com