After more than seven years of work studying flight dynamics and improving various parts, Wood's fly finally took off this spring. "When I got the fly to take off, I was literally jumping up and down in the lab," he says. Other researchers have built robots that mimic insects, but this is the first two-winged robot built on such a small scale that can take off using the same motions as a real fly. The dynamics of such flight are very complicated and have been studied for years by researchers such as Ron Fearing, Wood's former PhD advisor at the University of California, Berkeley. Fearing, who is building his own robotic insects, says that he was very impressed with the fact that Wood's insect can fly: "It is certainly a major breakthrough." But Fearing says that it is the first of many challenges in building a practical fly. At the moment, Wood's fly is limited by a tether that keeps it moving in a straight, upward direction. The researchers are currently working on a flight controller so that the robot can move in different directions. The researchers are also working on an onboard power source. (At the moment, the robotic fly is powered externally.) Wood says that a scaled-down lithium-polymer battery would provide less than five minutes of flying time. Tiny, lightweight sensors need to be integrated as well. Chemical sensors could be used, for example, to detect toxic substances in hazardous areas so that people can go into the area with the appropriate safety gear. Wood and his colleagues will also need to develop software routines for the fly so that it will be able to avoid obstacles. Still, Wood is proud to have reached a major project milestone: flight. "It's quite a major thing," he says. "A lot of people thought it would never be able to take off." |
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Wall-Climbing Robot
04/30/2007
Comments
Gaetano Marano on 07/19/2007 at 4:49 AM
51
so, the Minority Report's small disks surveillance microrobots will be no longer a sci-fi stuff...
-------------------------------
www.gaetanomarano.it
- do anyone knows how hyperlink the URLs posted in comments?
.
brunascle on 07/19/2007 at 10:55 AM
Web Developer
69
you cant.
:)
cwl on 07/19/2007 at 8:58 AM
2
I don't think so - looks like the weight is definitely less than 6 grams... Could it be as little as 60 mg ?
Uli
Rachel Kremen on 07/19/2007 at 10:46 AM
Online Managing Editor
6
abcarterjr on 07/19/2007 at 11:08 AM
45
into cluster of ice cubes then dropped from
UAV. When ice melts Flybots available to
be activated by an invisible collimnated beam of microwaves that can power as well as carry pulse code mission instructions.
EGZone on 07/19/2007 at 10:51 PM
3
Anyone interested in discussing such stuffs are welcome at: www.egzone.info
or simply visit my blog and open a new thread where we do have many domain experts in their respective fields at: www.egzone.info/blog
HarryStottle on 07/21/2007 at 12:09 PM
1
There are, of course, major technological obstacles still ahead. The "flies" will be utterly useless, for example, unless they can gather their energy from the environment (rather than carry powerpacks) and transmit the data they capture, in real time, a reasonable distance (at least a few kilometres so that high flying drones could harvest the signals). I'm guessing the transmission problem will eventually be solved using "swarm" technology to amplify the tiny output of individual flies into a cellphone scale signal which can reach the required distances.
But by far the biggest issue which needs to be resolved at this early stage - while we can still affect the outcome - is "who will have access to and control of this technology?"
As the earlier responses suggest, if we maintain our current passive stupidity, we will let Big Brother be the beneficiary and allow "him" to complete his increasing dominance of our lives, with the consequent erosion of liberty and privacy that will inevitably entail.
Or we can insist that this becomes democratically controlled technology which can form a major component of our defences against both Tyranny and Terrorism - as I am trying to outline here: http://www.fullmoon.nu/book/side_issues/IdentityCards.htm
david_chenard on 07/22/2007 at 12:44 AM
2
Asteroid Miner on 07/22/2007 at 11:29 AM
1
See:
http://www.comw.org/rma/fulltext/overview.html
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/00autumn/metz.htm
The Next Twist of the RMA by Steven Metz
http://www.comw.org/rma/fulltext/overview.html
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usassi/ssipubs/pubs2000/conflict/conflict.pdf
ARMED CONFLICT IN THE 21st CENTURY: THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION AND POST-MODERN WARFARE by Steven Metz April 2000
david_chenard on 07/22/2007 at 2:04 PM
2
Seed on 07/22/2007 at 4:11 PM
1
DonJoe on 07/24/2007 at 4:15 AM
1
Orwellian slip:
When you say one thing but mean your government.
DavidScottLewis on 07/24/2007 at 10:03 PM
3
The above statement is a bit subjective, perhaps even taken out of context. But taking it at face value, if MEMS fabrication techniques would have been used, what would have been the likely results?
Also, the article notes that the research team ultimately chose laser machining as the basis for its fabrication process. It should be noted that laser machining, especially centered on using ultrafast laser pulses, is a micromachining technique usually associated with MEMS fabrication.
I say this because a company I'm affiliated with, Zytech Solar, is using related techniques for the manufacturing of some solar collectors (panels), i.e., those with a focus on performance characteristics rather than cost (their European plants focus on quality differentiation; their plants in China focus on cost leadership): Yep, MEMS comes to the solar sector.
- David Scott Lewis
dmm on 07/25/2007 at 5:35 PM
128
Rather than focusing on building bio-inspired robots, I think we should be focusing on machine-to-organism interfaces. We must break out of the "all-electronics" box. We don't need robotic vehicles. We already HAVE robotic vehicles, of all sizes, for all kinds of terrain and payload -- animals. What we lack are CONTROL SYSTEMS for these vehicles, to make them go where we want.
georgep on 08/16/2007 at 8:19 AM
1
> cool. But a great fly robot was invented
> long ago. It has long range, fast speed,
> maneuverability, optical and olfactory sensors,
> and artificial intelligence, and it can refuel
> from the environment. Plus, it is incredibly
> cheap to produce, since it self-reproduces.
> It's called a fly.
> Rather than focusing on building bio-inspired
> robots, I think we should be focusing on
> machine-to-organism interfaces.
> [...] we lack [...] CONTROL SYSTEMS for these
> vehicles, to make them go where we want.
Indeed, excellent point for an alternative approach! Focuses on areas where our skills are stronger and let other entities (flies, birds) on the other side of the interface do the same.
Some steps are already being done unintentional, without aiming just this type of applications. There are animals that enjoy performing long flights (e.g. nightingales) for the benefit of humans (8 hours in wind tunnel – Lund University, Sweden). Some of them have rather good learning skills too.
Another issue (not only control system): how bringing back visual/audio information in real time from the "sensors"?
By the way, some primitive forms of control-systems (human-to-organism interfaces) exist too: horse and rider, by example.
Anyway, it will be exiting to follow this project too.
sudheerkumar_bobbala on 08/05/2007 at 12:50 AM
1