Microrobotic fly from Professor Wood's laboratory. Photo Credit: Harvard Magazine23 February 2008 (Sawf News) - Whether as rescue robot or flying spy, a micro-aerial vehicle could change how we look at the common housefly.
Robert Wood, assistant professor of engineering and applied sciences, and his colleagues at Harvard University have mastered the art of miniaturizing; they've invented a new way to make small joints and craft tiny but durable wings for the next generation of robots--those that can fit in the palm of a hand, with features as small as one micrometer long.
Microrobotic fly from Professor Wood's laboratory. Photo Credit: Harvard MagazineWood hopes that these low-cost, agile flying robots will revolutionize rescue operations, for example by flying into a collapsed building in search of survivors. Wood's creation is the first man-made machine the size of a normal fly to take flight on its own.
But making small and lightweight robots was no easy feat for Wood even after spending months studying the complex wing movements of houseflies, bees, and fruit flies to better mimic the mechanisms that give them flight. The challenge is making those tiny fabricated wings beat 120 times per second. The winged robot weighs 60-milligram (the weight of a few grains of rice) with a 3-centimeter wingspan.
Wood’s insect robot now runs on electricity transmitted via thin wiring from high-voltage amplifiers, but he aims to add an on-board power source. Initially, he hopes for five minutes of flying time, which will be extended as the battery options improve.
He eventually plans to program these robots to work in group like a swarm. “We want a human operator to be able to take out his batch of flies and say, ‘I want you guys to search for carbon dioxide’—a survivor breathing in a collapsed building,” he explains.
More information on Wood’s project can be read at Winged Mimicry.
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