A new Flying robot Inspired by insects, created at the University of Berkeley, can plan, change trajectory and achieve small objectives, such as a flower bumblebee.
With less than a centimeter in diameter, the device weighs only 21 milligrams, which makes it the smallest wireless robot in the world capable of flying in a controlled way.
“Bees exhibit notable aeronautical capabilities, such as navigation, planning and pollination, which artificial flying robots of similar scale cannot perform,” said Liwei Lin, a distinguished professor of mechanical engineering. “This flying robot can be controlled wirelessly to approach and achieve a designated objective, imitating the pollination mechanism when a bee collects nectar and flying.”
Lin is the main author of a new article describing the robot, published in the journal Science Advances.
In order for a robot to fly, it must be equipped with an energy source, such as a battery, and electronic for flight control, two components that can be difficult to integrate in very small and light devices. To solve this problem, Lin and the UC Berkeley equipment used an external magnetic field to feed the device and control the flight trajectory.
The robot has the shape of a small helix and includes two small magnets. Under the influence of an external magnetic field, these magnets attract and repel, which causes the propeller to rotate and generate sufficient support to raise the soil robot. The robot flight trajectory can be accurately controlled by modulating the intensity of the magnetic field.
The next largest robot with similar flight capabilities is 2.8 cm in diameter, almost three times larger than the new flying robot.
“Little flying robots are useful to explore small cavities and other complex environments,” said Fanping Sui, main co -author of the study and who recently completed a doctorate in engineering at UC Berkeley. “This could be used for artificial pollination or to inspect small spaces, such as the interior of a pipe.” Currently, the robot can only make passive flights. This means that, unlike the most advanced airplanes or drones, it does not have integrated sensors that detect their position or trajectory and cannot adjust their movements in real time. Therefore, although the robot is able to draw precise flight routes, a sudden change in the environment, like a strong wind, could divert it from its trajectory.
“In the future, we will try to add active control, which would allow us to change the attitude and position of the robot in real time,” said Wei Yue, main co -author of the study and postgraduate student in the Liwei Lin laboratory.
The operation of the robot also requires a powerful magnetic field provided by an electromagnetic field coil. However, a larger miniaturization of the robot less than 1 mm in diameter (approximately the size of a mosquito) could make it light enough to be controlled by much weaker magnetic fields, such as radio waves.
Another that mimics the cockroach: survives the tramples
In addition to the new robot inspired by a bark, Lin’s team has also created a robot inspired by a cockroach that can run on the floor and survive human trampling. Yue is also working on new “swarm” robots that can work as a teams such as ants to perform tasks that would be impossible for individual robots.
“I am working with 5 mm scale robots that can be dragged, roll and turn, and that can also work as a team to form chains and sets, or perform even more difficult tasks,” said Yue. “They could be used in minimally invasive surgery, since we could inject several of them into the body and make cooperate to form stents, remove clots or perform other tasks.”