Methanol fuel gives this tiny beetle bot the freedom to roam

Using methanol as fuel for a minimuscle, the robot can crawl, carry and climb for over an hour

robotic beetle on a leaf

Look ma, no wires!  A robotic beetle, which weighs about as much as three grains of rice, crawls, carries and climbs without being tethered to a power source.

X. Yang, L. Chang, N.O. Pérez-Arancibia/Sci. Robotics 2020

A robot beetle goes the distance on its own thanks to a methanol-fueled micromuscle.