Bradley Nelson: Microrobotics, Medical Robotics, Magnetic Field Control | Andreas Orthey #3

Imagine tiny robots moving through your bloodstream, breaking down blood clots, repairing damaged cells, or delivering targeted drugs to tumor sites.This isn't science fiction---it is the real-world potential of microrobotics, a field on the verge of revolutionizing robotics research and transforming medicine as we know it.In episode #3 of my podcast, I sit down with leading expert Brad Nelson, Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zürich, to explore the fascinating world of robots at the smallest scales.Content00:38 Beginnings of Microrobotics: Manipulation at Small-Scale02:45 Grand Challenges in the Field: Small, Intelligent Machines03:27 Medical Applications of Microrobots04:08 Regulatory Challenges: Sterility05:08 Personal Motivations: From the Space Program to Microrobotics06:43 First Robotics Project: Assembly Workcells and Force Control09:00 PhD in Robotics: Microscopic Robots10:14 Curiosity and Forces at the Smallest Scales12:06 First Interest in Medical Robotics15:13 Two Leading Causes of Death: Heart Attacks and Ischemic Strokes16:09 Move Micro Robots: Magnetic Field Control18:11 From Blockage to Relief: CTs, Nanoparticles, and Microneedles21:25 Detection of Strokes: Face, Arm, and Speech Test23:06 Formation of Blockages23:55 Prevention of Blood Clots: Smoking, Diet, and Exercise25:28 Femtotools: Force Sensors at Small Scales27:19 Aeon Scientific and Nanoflex Robotics28:03 Magnetic Fields: Dangers and Weak Fields29:36 Effects of High-Frequency Magnetic Fields30:18 From Research to Product: Challenges and Lessons learned32:49 Building Exceptional Teams: Passion, Teamwork, and Uncertainty34:11 Ideal Research Student: Excitement, Collaboration, Hard Work35:39 Structure of Daily Work Days37:18 What is the Smallest Scale for Robots?39:40 The Limit: One Micrometer40:21 Alternatives to Magnetic Fields for Actuation41:11 Applications outside the Medical Field43:08 How realistic is the movie Transcendence?45:00 Current State on Transporting Drugs through the Body47:09 Micro-robots in the Brain: What can we already do?48:18 What Bradley is most proud of48:45 What do you need to break into Micro-Robotics?50:31 How to create a good interdisciplinary team?51:59 How do LLMs affect the field of Micro-Robotics?54:00 Current Research: Robotics Capsules and Teleoperations56:34 Time in United States Peace Corps: Botswana and Teaching Math58:56 Moving from Minnesota to Switzerland01:00:52 Why Robotics is AmazingEpisode LinksSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/522KaV5Os08rHJUNTjaRhn?si=0jgsp-7HRcacRZlCxyCW7QApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bradley-nelson-microrobotics-in-medicine-andreas-orthey-3/id1812910570?i=1000706674728Bradley Nelson Website: https://msrl.ethz.ch/the-lab/team/Brad_Nelson.htmlPodcast LinksYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/andreasortheyX/Twitter: https://x.com/andreas_ortheySpotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/andreasorthey/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aorthey/Support: https://buymeacoffee.com/aortheyPersonal Website: https://aorthey.comPodcast Website: https://aorthey.com/src/podcast