Talk:Microbotics

Untitled

Hi. As it stands, I think this article reads in a confusing way. The first sentence states that the characteristic dimensions of the robot must be less that 1 mm. A number of the examples in the History section then cite cm-scale devices. Finally, the Design Considerations section begins with an argument for the standardization of length scales and for defining microrobots as robots with sizes 1-1000 microns. As a whole, this article leaves the reader confused about the definition of the microrobot. Ultimately, I believe this confusion is due to two subfields adopting the same name to mean different things. There is the camp that refers to microrobots broadly as devices smaller than more classical robotic platforms, and there's the camp that adopts a perhaps more precise definition (from an SI prefix perspective) of micrometer-scale robots. Since both of these subfields adopt this same nomenclature, I believe both should be addressed in this article. However, I think this distinction needs to be addressed so the article doesn't read as contradictory. AllanMBrooks (talk) 17:54, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

I agree.

In fact the confusion come from the meaning of "micro" prefix. At first, the micro prefix comes from the Greek 'μικρός' (mikrós) meaning "small" (see also Micro-). But, the micro prefix is also a unit prefix. That is why I believe standardizing on length scales should avoid confusion. David Folio (talk) 11:16, 31 May 2023 (UTC)