Small Times has an article on a new type of motor being developed by Professor Kenji Uchino. The professor is working on traveling-wave ultrasonic motors as small as 1.8mm in diameter. The motors are based on the piezoelectric effect. The same priniciple was employed to power the flapping wings of the robo-fly at Berkeley. Uchino's motors are intended to be used initially in medical robotics but will probably find uses in a wide range of robots.