This Is the World’s Smallest Autonomous Robot

[Narrator] You're looking at the world's smallest

fully autonomous programmable robot.

Measuring only 200 by 300 by 50 micrometers,

the robot is powered by light from an LED

and can independently sense its surroundings,

make decisions on its own, and swim and move in water.

According to the team of researchers

from the University of Pennsylvania

and the University of Michigan that created it,

this is the first time a complete computer

with a processor, memory, and sensors

has been mounted on a robot

less than one millimeter in size.

They believe it can be useful for applications

such as allowing doctors to monitor individual cells

or helping engineers assemble microscale devices.