Harvard’s Microrobotics Lab has developed a RoboBee, a miniature drone designed to mimic real insects like bees and flies. The Microrobotics Lab has been working on the Robobee for years, but it wasn’t until the team took some inspiration from the crane fly that the project finally started coming together, as the insect’s anatomy made it perfect for landing the tiny robot.
Harvard engineers realized crane flies don’t crash and burn every single time they try to land, so maybe their spindly, springing legs should be used as a model for the RoboBee’s. The result is a cute, dainty little robotic insect with a 1.2-inch wingspan and weighing a tenth of a gram that looks a bit like a crane fly crossed with a camera tripod that can perform a “gentle plop down” landing.
Researchers foresee the RoboBee being used in a variety of ways, from pollinating plants to finding survivors after a disaster. Someone will find another, evil use for it, though, I’m sure.
It may not sound like much, but it’s actually a huge step up over its previous lending technique, which was nothing. Engineers would cut the power midair, and it would plummet from the sky. The little drone would plunge a tremendous distance, but a controlled fall was the best they could muster.
The problem was the “ground effect,” a turbulence issue that negatively affects helicopters and tiny robo-insects alike, making the last few millimeters of descent look like an aeronautical disaster.
RoboBee’s new legs and a smarter brain mean it can touchdown on hard surfaces or even leaves without exploding. This also protects its delicate piezoelectric actuators, which are the robot’s version of muscles, except way more prone to shattering.
So what’s next for RoboBee? Aside from terrifying actual bees on a wildflower field near you, it’s aiming for autonomy in power, sensing, and control. Engineers still have a way to go before it’s pollinating flowers and identifying your body after a hurricane.
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