SRL members – Dr. Venkat Kalpathy Venkiteswaran and Prof. Sarthak Misra were awarded a Crazy Research project grant from the Faculty of Engineering Technology at University of Twente. The Crazy Research fund is aimed towards exciting and challenging research ideas with big potential. The funds will be utilized towards the SyMBiOBot project.

The SyMBiOBot project aims to create a new class of minimally invasive surgical tools by leveraging the benefits of soft materials, bioinspired design and magnetic actuation. SymBioBot is a miniaturized bio-compatible robot that can move through small organs or vessels  and can be wirelessly controlled from outside the body. SyMBiOBot can enter the body through a small incision, reliably move to a remote site within the body, transport necessary cargo, perform a specific surgical procedure, and if necessary, be retrieved with no adverse effects to the patient. The ability to transform its shape gives SyMBiOBot multi-functional capabilities. Inspiration for SyMBiOBot comes from our recent work on magnetically-actuated soft robots and grippers [1,2]. SyMBiOBot has the potential for strong social impact by transforming interventional procedures and providing personalized and targeted minimally invasive solutions for challenging therapeutical applications. SyMBiOBot is specifically targeted at high-risk, challenging interventions at remote sites deep inside the human body that cannot be tackled using existing minimally invasive surgical techniques.