Recent developments in magnetically driven micro- and nanorobots

Abstract Micro- and nanorobots are promising devices for biomedical and environmental applications. The past few years have witnessed rapid developments in this field. This short review intends to address recent progress on magnetically driven micro- and nanorobots developed in our laboratory and by other research groups. Different designs such as helical swimmers, flexible swimmers, surface walkers, and others are categorized and discussed. Specific applications of these robots in the fields of biomedicine or environmental remediation are also reported. Finally, the use of magnetic fields for additional capabilities beyond manipulation is presented.