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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday May 23 2019, @09:57AM   Printer-friendly
from the mechanical-buzzing dept.

Submitted via IRC for AnonymousLuser

Scientists create a four-winged robot insect that flies with grace

It's difficult to make an insect-like flying robot -- realistic four-winged bots are typically too heavy, while lighter two-winged models tend to fly erratically. USC researchers have edged one step closer to the dream machine, however. They've created Bee+, a four-winged bot [...] that flies with more of the agility and poise of real insects while weighing just over 0.003oz. The trick was to drop earlier bimorph actuators, cantilevers made of two layers of piezoelectric material with a passive layer in between, with unimorphs that only have one piezoelectric layer. The four actuators combined weigh half as much as bimorphs would at just under 0.002oz, reducing the wing loading and significantly improving control.

There's still much, much more work to be done before there are robotic insects in service. Bee+ flies tethered, since that saves the team from factoring a battery into the design. Size is also a concern. While the robot is only slightly larger than a penny, it's still much larger and heavier than most real insects.


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 23 2019, @01:35PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 23 2019, @01:35PM (#846635) Journal

    If you take Gracie's pipe away from her, she'll stay on the ground.

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