Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41758956›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Enable active mobility of untethered miniature robots in high-resistance multiphase medium.

Yuxuan Xiang, Chunyu Jin, Wenbin Wang, Zihan Wei, Ruomao Liu, Fang Leng, Chenjie Xu, Li Zhang, Jiachen Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Performance Estimation and Ex Vivo Validation of Untethered Magnetic Robots in Soft Tissue.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yuxuan XiangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-4705-5634
Chunyu JinDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0009-0006-7443-9229
Wenbin WangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-7043-7449
Zihan WeiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-1761-3332
Ruomao LiuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-4700-4469
Fang LengDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-0227-5502
Chenjie XuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-8278-3912
Li ZhangDepartment of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0003-1152-8962
Jiachen ZhangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, P. R. China.ORCID 0000-0002-6488-6686

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Conventional robotic systems exhibit limited mobility in media characterized by substantial resistance, e.g., solid-liquid mixture (SLM) and solid granular medium (SGM). This challenge is particularly pronounced for untethered miniature robots, as they often lack the capacities to generate sufficient force outputs or to implement strategies that reduce resistance from the surrounding medium. Here, we propose an impact-driven magnetic untethered miniature robot (RoboIMP) capable of delivering repeatable high-force outputs of up to 3 N, surpassing the theoretical force limits of conventional magnetic robots at the same characteristic length. RoboIMP uses reciprocal oscillation to fluidize the surrounding medium, thereby reducing the resistance from the medium by up to 13-fold. This enables effective locomotion of an untethered miniature robot in both SLM and SGM. By integrating functional modules, the proposed system demonstrates various applications, including pipeline cleaning, cargo delivery and retrieval, and navigation in the presence of chyme.

Identifiers

PMID41758956
PMCPMC12947877

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.