Qinmin Pan and colleagues explain that scientists have reported a number of advances toward tiny robots that can walk on water.

ENGADGET: Chinese microbot walks on water, skims the surface of insect-inspired design

Mr. Preston pieced together a blueprint for a high-concept adventure story with tiny robots, killer insects and an evil CEO of a nanotechnology firm.

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Tiny countertop robots inform us that, say, arugula doesn't go with boiled carrots or that lemon grass tastes awful with chocolate milk.

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Seeing the robots explore tiny void spaces really blows them away.

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The son of a Berkeley civil engineering professor, Pister first built tiny self-propelled robots, such as a mechanical fly that could take wing and transmit data.

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We also checked out Anthony Oh's super-cute recycled robots, which are so tiny they fit on the tip of your finger.

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Some say the future is already predetermined, as a result of our short-sightedness, with water full of toxic waste and maybe even combative robots who see humans as a scourge on the tiny blue planet that we share.

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The robots, which are about the size of a quarter, move on tiny, toothpick style legs, and are capable of behaving collectively and communicating with each other.

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Such robots could skim across lakes and other bodies of water to monitor water quality or act as tiny spies.

ENGADGET: Chinese microbot walks on water, skims the surface of insect-inspired design