Working in tandem, six of the robots somehow managed to tow a 1800 kilogram car, despite weighing 2000 times less each - much less than other car-towing robots.

According to the Stanford team, the secret is biomimicry. The robots are designed to imitate gecko lizards with sticky feet that can support a heavy load but still detach easily.

In previous experiments, the robots were able to climb walls and pull heavy weights. This time the time the robots are mimicking ants by working as a team to pull a heavy load.

READ: This robot spider uses safety tethers to control its fall

Researchers discovered that ants can boost their power by three of their legs at the same time. "By considering the dynamics of the team, not just the individual, we are able to build a team of our 'microTug' robots that, like ants, are superstrong individually, but then also work together as a team," grad student David Christensen said, according to the NYTimes.

Using the same format (although with wheels), the uTug robots can gather a force of 200 Newtons. With their sticky tires, that amount of force is enough to slowly but surely pull a 1800kg car.

See the video of the tiny robots pulling the car below: