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{{Short description|Tiny robot capable of flight}}
], while another is <br> held in tweezers with the wings activated.]] ]
'''RoboBee''' is a tiny ] capable of ]ed ], developed by a research robotics team at ]. The culmination of twelve years of research, RoboBee solved two key technical challenges of ]. Engineers invented a process inspired by ]s that allowed them to build on a sub-millimeter scale precisely and efficiently. To achieve flight, they created artificial muscles capable of beating the wings 120 times per second. '''RoboBee''' is a tiny ] capable of partially ] ], developed by a research robotics team at ]. The culmination of twelve years of research, RoboBee solved two key technical challenges of ]. Engineers invented a process inspired by ]s that allowed them to build on a sub-millimeter scale precisely and efficiently. To achieve flight, they created artificial muscles capable of beating the wings 120 times per second.


The goal of the RoboBee project is to make a fully ] ] of flying robots for applications such as ] and ]. To make this feasible, researchers need to figure out how to get power supply and decision making functions, which are currently supplied to the robot via a tiny tether, on board. The goal of the RoboBee project is to make a fully ] ] of flying robots for applications such as ], ] and ].<ref>Project website of the Wyss Institute, Harvard - https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/autonomous-flying-microrobots-robobees/</ref> To make this feasible, researchers need to figure out how to get power supply and decision making functions, which are currently supplied to the robot via a tiny tether which is integrated with the main body.


The {{convert|3|cm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} wingspan of RoboBee makes it the smallest man-made device modeled on an insect to achieve flight. The {{convert|3|cm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} wingspan of RoboBee makes it the smallest ] to achieve flight.


==History== ==History==
For more than a decade, researchers at ] have been working on developing tiny flying robots.<ref name=Phys /> The ] ] funded early research in the hopes that it would lead to stealth surveillance solutions for the battlefield and urban situations. Inspired by the biology of a ], early efforts focused on getting the robot airborne. Flight was achieved in 2007, but forward motion required a guideline since it was not possible to build control mechanisms on board. ] robotics researcher Ron Fearing called the achievement "a major breakthrough" for micro scale robotics.<ref name=TechReview>{{cite news|title=Robotic Insect Takes Off|author=Rachel Ross|date=July 19, 2007|work=Technology Review|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/news/408265/robotic-insect-takes-off/|accessdate=May 3, 2013}}</ref> For more than a decade, researchers at ] have been working on developing tiny flying robots.<ref name=Phys /> The ] ] funded early research in the hopes that it would lead to stealth surveillance solutions for the battlefield and urban situations. Inspired by the biology of a ], early efforts focused on getting the robot airborne. Flight was achieved in 2007, but forward motion required a guideline since it was not possible to build control mechanisms on board. ] robotics researcher Ron Fearing called the achievement "a major breakthrough" for micro scale robotics.<ref name=TechReview>{{cite news|title=Robotic Insect Takes Off|author=Rachel Ross|date=July 19, 2007|work=Technology Review|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/news/408265/robotic-insect-takes-off/|accessdate=May 3, 2013|archive-date=April 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429184247/http://www.technologyreview.com/news/408265/robotic-insect-takes-off/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


The concept of micro-scale flying systems was not new. The "]" (3.07 g) was capable of untethered self-controlled forwards flight, while ] research devices (0.1 g) had sufficient power for hovering, but lacked self-sustained flight capacity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Redesign of the Micromechanical Flying Insect in a Power Density Context|page=3}}</ref> The concept of micro-scale flying systems was not new. The "]" (3.07 g) was capable of untethered self-controlled forwards flight, while ] research devices (0.1 kg) had sufficient power for hovering, but lacked self-sustained flight capacity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Redesign of the Micromechanical Flying Insect in a Power Density Context|page=3}}</ref>


Based on the promise of the early robotic fly experiments, the RoboBee project was launched in 2009 to investigate what it would take to "create a robotic bee colony".<ref name=SciAmerican>{{cite journal|title=Flight of the robobees|first1=Robert|last1=Wood|first2=Radhika|last2= Nagpal|first3=Gu-Yeon|last3=Wei|date=March 11, 2013|work=Scientific American|volume=308|issue=3|pages=60–65|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=robobee-project-building-flying-robots-insect-size|accessdate=May 3, 2013|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0313-60}}</ref> Based on the promise of the early robotic fly experiments, the RoboBee project was launched in 2009 to investigate what it would take to "create a robotic bee colony".<ref name=SciAmerican>{{cite journal|title=Flight of the robobees|first1=Robert|last1=Wood|first2=Radhika|last2= Nagpal|first3=Gu-Yeon|last3=Wei|date=March 11, 2013|journal=Scientific American|volume=308|issue=3|pages=60–65|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0313-60|pmid=23469434|bibcode=2013SciAm.308c..60W}}</ref>


Achieving controlled flight proved exceedingly difficult, requiring the efforts of a diverse group: vision experts, biologists, materials scientists, electrical engineers.<ref name=Phys>{{cite news|title=RoboBees: Robotic insects make first controlled flight (w/ video)|work=Phys.org|date=May 2, 2013|url=http://phys.org/news/2013-05-robobees-robotic-insects-flight-video.html |accessdate=May 3, 2013}}</ref> During the summer of 2012, the researchers solved key technical challenges allowing their robotic creation, nicknamed RoboBee, to take its first controlled flight. The results of their research were published in '']'' in early May 2013.<ref name=Science1>{{cite journal | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1231806 | title=Controlled Flight of a Biologically Inspired, Insect-Scale Robot |author1=Ma, Kevin Y. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2013 | volume=340 | issue=6132 | pages=603–607 | doi=10.1126/science.1231806 | pmid=23641114}}</ref> Achieving controlled flight proved exceedingly difficult, requiring the efforts of a diverse group: vision experts, biologists, materials scientists, electrical engineers.<ref name=Phys>{{cite news|title=RoboBees: Robotic insects make first controlled flight (w/ video)|work=Phys.org|date=May 2, 2013|url=http://phys.org/news/2013-05-robobees-robotic-insects-flight-video.html |accessdate=May 3, 2013}}</ref> During the summer of 2012, the researchers solved key technical challenges allowing their robotic creation, nicknamed RoboBee, to take its first controlled flight. The results of their research were published in '']'' in early May 2013.<ref name=Science1>{{cite journal | title=Controlled Flight of a Biologically Inspired, Insect-Scale Robot |author1=Ma, Kevin Y. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2013 | volume=340 | issue=6132 | pages=603–607 | doi=10.1126/science.1231806 | pmid=23641114|bibcode = 2013Sci...340..603M|s2cid=21912409 }}</ref>


==Design challenges== ==Design challenges==
According to the RoboBee researchers, previous efforts to miniaturize robots were of little help to them because RoboBee's small size changes the nature of the forces at play.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Engineers had to figure out how to build without ]s, ]s, and ] and ], which are not viable on such a small scale.<ref name=SciAmerican /><ref name=LATimes /> In 2011, they developed a technique where they cut designs from flat sheets, layered them up, and folded the creation into shape.<ref name=Phys /> Glue was used to hold the folded parts together, analogous to ].<ref name=LATimes>{{cite news|title=Meet RoboBee, a bug-sized, bio-inspired flying robot|author=Amina Khan|date=May 2, 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-flying-robot-robobee-smallest-ever-20130502,0,5469981.story|accessdate=May 2, 2013}}</ref> The technique replaced earlier ones that were slower and less precise and used less durable materials.<ref name=Phys /> The manufacturing process, inspired by ]s, enables the rapid production of ] RoboBee units.<ref name=CBS /> According to the RoboBee researchers, previous efforts to miniaturize robots were of little help to them because RoboBee's small size changes the nature of the forces at play.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Engineers had to figure out how to build without ]s, ]s, and ] and ], which are not viable on such a small scale.<ref name=SciAmerican /><ref name=LATimes /> In 2011, they developed a technique where they cut designs from flat sheets, layered them up, and folded the creation into shape.<ref name=Phys /> Glue was used to hold the folded parts together, analogous to ].<ref name=LATimes>{{cite news|title=Meet RoboBee, a bug-sized, bio-inspired flying robot|author=Amina Khan|date=May 2, 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-flying-robot-robobee-smallest-ever-20130502,0,5469981.story|accessdate=May 2, 2013}}</ref> The technique replaced earlier ones that were slower and less precise and used less durable materials.<ref name=Phys /> The manufacturing process, inspired by ]s, enables the rapid production of ] RoboBee units.<ref name=CBS />


At micro scale, a small amount of ] can have a dramatic impact on flight. To overcome it, researchers had to make RoboBee react very rapidly.<ref name=Phys /> For the wings, they built "]" using a ] actuator - a thin ceramic strip that contracts when ] is run across it.<ref name=LATimes /> Thin ] hinges serve as joints that allow rotational motions in the wings.<ref name=Phys /> The design allows the robots to generate power output comparable with an insect of equal size.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Each wing can be controlled separately in real time.<ref name=Phys /> At micro scale, a small amount of ] can have a dramatic impact on flight. To overcome it, researchers had to make RoboBee react very rapidly.<ref name=Phys /> For the wings, they built "]" using a ] actuator - a thin ceramic strip that contracts when ] is run across it.<ref name=LATimes /> Thin ] hinges serve as joints that allow rotational motions in the wings.<ref name=Phys /> The design allows the robots to generate power output comparable with an insect of equal size.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Each wing can be controlled separately in real time.<ref name=Phys />
Line 22: Line 23:
The ultimate goal of the project is to make colonies of fully autonomous and wireless RoboBees.<ref name=Phys /> As of 2013, two problems remain unsolved. First, the robot is too small for even the smallest encapsulated ]s, meaning there is no way for the robots to make decisions.<ref name=LATimes /> Currently, the RoboBee has onboard ], but the data requires transmission to a tethered "brain subsystem" for interpretation. Work continues on specialized ] in an aim to solve the problem.<ref name=SciAmerican /> The ultimate goal of the project is to make colonies of fully autonomous and wireless RoboBees.<ref name=Phys /> As of 2013, two problems remain unsolved. First, the robot is too small for even the smallest encapsulated ]s, meaning there is no way for the robots to make decisions.<ref name=LATimes /> Currently, the RoboBee has onboard ], but the data requires transmission to a tethered "brain subsystem" for interpretation. Work continues on specialized ] in an aim to solve the problem.<ref name=SciAmerican />


Second, the researchers have not figured out how to get a viable power supply on board.<ref name=LATimes /> "The power question also proves to be something of a ]", remarked Wood. "A large power unit stores more energy but demands a larger ] to handle the increased weight, which in turn requires an even bigger power source."<ref name=SciAmerican /> Instead the robots have to be tethered with tiny cords that supply power and directions.<ref name=LATimes /> A recent progress in on-board power management is the demonstration of reversible, energy-efficient perching on overhangs. This allows the prototype to remain at a high vantage point while conserving energy.<ref name=Science2>{{cite journal | url=http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6288/978 | title=Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion |author1=Graule, Moritz A. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Jafferis, Noah T. |author5=Ma, Kevin Y. |author6=Spenko, Matthew |author7=Kornbluh, Roy |author8=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2016 | volume=352 | issue=6288 | pages=978–982 | doi=10.1126/science.aaf1092 | pmid=27199427}}</ref> Second, the researchers have not figured out how to get a viable power supply on board.<ref name=LATimes /> "The power question also proves to be something of a ]", remarked Wood. "A large power unit stores more energy but demands a larger ] to handle the increased weight, which in turn requires an even bigger power source."<ref name=SciAmerican /> Instead the robots have to be tethered with tiny cords that supply power and directions.<ref name=LATimes /> A recent progress in on-board power management is the demonstration of reversible, energy-efficient perching on overhangs. This allows the prototype to remain at a high vantage point while conserving energy.<ref name=Science2>{{cite journal | title=Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion |author1=Graule, Moritz A. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Jafferis, Noah T. |author5=Ma, Kevin Y. |author6=Spenko, Matthew |author7=Kornbluh, Roy |author8=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2016 | volume=352 | issue=6288 | pages=978–982 | doi=10.1126/science.aaf1092 | pmid=27199427| bibcode=2016Sci...352..978G |doi-access=free }}</ref>


==Future use== ==Future use==
If researchers solve the microchip and power issues, it is believed that groups of RoboBees utilizing ] will be highly useful in search and rescue efforts and as artificial pollinators. To achieve the goal of swarm intelligence, the research team has developed two abstract ]s – Karma which uses ]s, and OptRAD which uses probabilistic algorithms.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Potential applications for individual or small groups of RoboBees include covert surveillance and the detection of harmful chemicals.<ref name=TechReview /> If researchers solve the microchip and power issues, it is believed that groups of RoboBees utilizing ] will be highly useful in search and rescue efforts and as artificial pollinators. To achieve the goal of swarm intelligence, the research team has developed two abstract ]s – Karma which uses ]s, and OptRAD which uses probabilistic algorithms.<ref name=SciAmerican /> Potential applications for individual or small groups of RoboBees include covert surveillance and the detection of harmful chemicals.<ref name=TechReview />


Previously, parties such as the ] have raised concerns about the civilian privacy impacts of military and government use of miniature flying robots.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reeve|first=Elspeth|title=Robot Hummingbird Drone Is Military's Latest Spy Toy|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/02/robot-hummingbird-drone-is-military-s-latest-spy-toy/17738/|work=The Atlantic Wire|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Previously, parties such as the ] have raised concerns about the civilian privacy impacts of military and government use of miniature flying robots.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reeve|first=Elspeth|title=Robot Hummingbird Drone Is Military's Latest Spy Toy|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/02/robot-hummingbird-drone-is-military-s-latest-spy-toy/17738/|work=The Atlantic Wire|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=FAA Releases New Drone List—Is Your Town on the Map?|date=7 February 2013 |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/faa-releases-new-list-drone-authorizations-your-local-law-enforcement-agency-map|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref> In some areas, such as the state of ] and the city of ], regulators have restricted their use by the general public.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas Declares War on Robots|url=http://robots.net/article/3542.html|publisher=Robots.net|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-drone-regulation-20130205,0,7365434.story|title=City in Virginia passes anti-drone resolution|work=]|date=6 February 2013 |accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref>
FAA Releases New Drone List—Is Your Town on the Map?|url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/faa-releases-new-list-drone-authorizations-your-local-law-enforcement-agency-map|publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref> In some areas, such as the state of ] and the city of ], regulators have restricted their use by the general public.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas Declares War on Robots|url=http://robots.net/article/3542.html|publisher=Robots.net|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-drone-regulation-20130205,0,7365434.story|title=City in Virginia passes anti-drone resolution|work=]|accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref>


According to the project researchers, the "pop-up" manufacturing process would enable fully automated mass production of RoboBees in the future.<ref name=CBS>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Shoshana|title="RoboBees" take first flight|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57582629/robobees-take-first-flight/|accessdate=May 3, 2013|newspaper=CBS News|date=May 2, 2013}}</ref> Harvard's Wyss Institute is in the process of commercializing the folding and pop-up techniques invented for the project.<ref name=Phys /> According to the project researchers, the "pop-up" manufacturing process would enable fully automated mass production of RoboBees in the future.<ref name=CBS>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Shoshana|title="RoboBees" take first flight|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robobees-take-first-flight/|access-date=May 3, 2013|newspaper=CBS News|date=May 2, 2013}}</ref> Harvard's Wyss Institute is in the process of commercializing the folding and pop-up techniques invented for the project.<ref name=Phys />


==Technical specifications== ==Technical specifications==
RoboBee's wingspan is {{convert|3|cm|in|sp=us}}, which is believed to be the smallest man-made wingspan to achieve flight. The wings can flap 120 times per second and be controlled remotely in real time. Each RoboBee weighs {{convert|80|mg|oz}}.<ref name=LATimes /> RoboBee's wingspan is {{convert|3|cm|in|sp=us}}, which is believed to be the smallest man-made wingspan to achieve flight. The wings can flap 120 times per second and be controlled remotely in real time. Each RoboBee weighs {{convert|80|mg|oz}}.<ref name=LATimes />

== Concerns about robotic bees and sustainability==
The idea that robotic crop pollination can counter the decline in pollinators has gained wide popularity recently.{{When?|date=April 2020}} Researchers from the fields of bee pollination, bee health, bee conservation, and ] have argued that RoboBee and other ] are a technically and economically infeasible solution at present and pose substantial ecological and moral risks: (1) despite recent advances, robot-assisted pollination is far from being able to replace bees to pollinate crops efficiently; (2) using robots is very unlikely to be economically viable; (3) there would be unacceptably high environmental costs; (4) wider ecosystems would be damaged; (5) it would erode the values of biodiversity; and, (6) relying on robotic pollination could actually lead to major food insecurity.<ref name=STOTENV>{{cite journal | url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment | title=Robotic bees for crop pollination: Why drones cannot replace biodiversity |author1=Potts, S.G. |author2=Neumann, P. |author3=Vaissière, B. |author4=Vereecken, N.J. | journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=June 2018 | volume=642 | pages=665–667 | doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.114 | pmid=29909334 | bibcode=2018ScTEn.642..665P | s2cid=49419492 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
Line 42: Line 45:


==External links== ==External links==
* *
* article on RoboBee with videos * {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508090004/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=robobees-takes-off |date=2013-05-08 }} article on RoboBee with videos
* *
* {{cite journal | url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1231806 | title=Controlled Flight of a Biologically Inspired, Insect-Scale Robot |author1=Ma, Kevin Y. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2013 | volume=340 | issue=6132 | pages=603–607 | doi=10.1126/science.1231806 | pmid=23641114}} — Original ''Science'' paper. * {{cite journal | title=Controlled Flight of a Biologically Inspired, Insect-Scale Robot |author1=Ma, Kevin Y. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2013 | volume=340 | issue=6132 | pages=603–607 | doi=10.1126/science.1231806 | pmid=23641114|bibcode = 2013Sci...340..603M|s2cid=21912409 }} — Original ''Science'' paper.
* {{cite journal | url=http://science.sciencemag.org/content/352/6288/978 | title=Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion |author1=Graule, Moritz A. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Jafferis, Noah T. |author5=Ma, Kevin Y. |author6=Spenko, Matthew |author7=Kornbluh, Roy |author8=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2016 | volume=352 | issue=6288 | pages=978–982 | doi=10.1126/science.aaf1092 | pmid=27199427}} - ''Science'' paper on perching * {{cite journal | title=Perching and takeoff of a robotic insect on overhangs using switchable electrostatic adhesion |author1=Graule, Moritz A. |author2=Chirarattananon, Pakpong |author3=Fuller, Sawyer B. |author4=Jafferis, Noah T. |author5=Ma, Kevin Y. |author6=Spenko, Matthew |author7=Kornbluh, Roy |author8=Wood, Robert J. | journal=Science |date=May 2016 | volume=352 | issue=6288 | pages=978–982 | doi=10.1126/science.aaf1092 | pmid=27199427| bibcode=2016Sci...352..978G |doi-access=free }} - ''Science'' paper on perching


] ]
] ]
]
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Latest revision as of 10:09, 17 November 2024

Tiny robot capable of flight
Several RoboBees sit on the ground, while another is held in tweezers with the wings activated.

RoboBee is a tiny robot capable of partially untethered flight, developed by a research robotics team at Harvard University. The culmination of twelve years of research, RoboBee solved two key technical challenges of micro-robotics. Engineers invented a process inspired by pop-up books that allowed them to build on a sub-millimeter scale precisely and efficiently. To achieve flight, they created artificial muscles capable of beating the wings 120 times per second.

The goal of the RoboBee project is to make a fully autonomous swarm of flying robots for applications such as search and rescue, surveillance and artificial pollination. To make this feasible, researchers need to figure out how to get power supply and decision making functions, which are currently supplied to the robot via a tiny tether which is integrated with the main body.

The 3-centimeter (1.2 in) wingspan of RoboBee makes it the smallest man-made device modeled on an insect to achieve flight.

History

For more than a decade, researchers at Harvard University have been working on developing tiny flying robots. The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded early research in the hopes that it would lead to stealth surveillance solutions for the battlefield and urban situations. Inspired by the biology of a fly, early efforts focused on getting the robot airborne. Flight was achieved in 2007, but forward motion required a guideline since it was not possible to build control mechanisms on board. UC Berkeley robotics researcher Ron Fearing called the achievement "a major breakthrough" for micro scale robotics.

The concept of micro-scale flying systems was not new. The "DelFly" (3.07 g) was capable of untethered self-controlled forwards flight, while Micromechanical Flying Insect research devices (0.1 kg) had sufficient power for hovering, but lacked self-sustained flight capacity.

Based on the promise of the early robotic fly experiments, the RoboBee project was launched in 2009 to investigate what it would take to "create a robotic bee colony".

Achieving controlled flight proved exceedingly difficult, requiring the efforts of a diverse group: vision experts, biologists, materials scientists, electrical engineers. During the summer of 2012, the researchers solved key technical challenges allowing their robotic creation, nicknamed RoboBee, to take its first controlled flight. The results of their research were published in Science in early May 2013.

Design challenges

According to the RoboBee researchers, previous efforts to miniaturize robots were of little help to them because RoboBee's small size changes the nature of the forces at play. Engineers had to figure out how to build without rotary motors, gears, and nuts and bolts, which are not viable on such a small scale. In 2011, they developed a technique where they cut designs from flat sheets, layered them up, and folded the creation into shape. Glue was used to hold the folded parts together, analogous to origami. The technique replaced earlier ones that were slower and less precise and used less durable materials. The manufacturing process, inspired by pop-up books, enables the rapid production of prototype RoboBee units.

At micro scale, a small amount of turbulence can have a dramatic impact on flight. To overcome it, researchers had to make RoboBee react very rapidly. For the wings, they built "artificial muscles" using a piezoelectric actuator - a thin ceramic strip that contracts when electric current is run across it. Thin plastic hinges serve as joints that allow rotational motions in the wings. The design allows the robots to generate power output comparable with an insect of equal size. Each wing can be controlled separately in real time.

The ultimate goal of the project is to make colonies of fully autonomous and wireless RoboBees. As of 2013, two problems remain unsolved. First, the robot is too small for even the smallest encapsulated microchips, meaning there is no way for the robots to make decisions. Currently, the RoboBee has onboard vision sensors, but the data requires transmission to a tethered "brain subsystem" for interpretation. Work continues on specialized hardware accelerators in an aim to solve the problem.

Second, the researchers have not figured out how to get a viable power supply on board. "The power question also proves to be something of a catch-22", remarked Wood. "A large power unit stores more energy but demands a larger propulsion system to handle the increased weight, which in turn requires an even bigger power source." Instead the robots have to be tethered with tiny cords that supply power and directions. A recent progress in on-board power management is the demonstration of reversible, energy-efficient perching on overhangs. This allows the prototype to remain at a high vantage point while conserving energy.

Future use

If researchers solve the microchip and power issues, it is believed that groups of RoboBees utilizing swarm intelligence will be highly useful in search and rescue efforts and as artificial pollinators. To achieve the goal of swarm intelligence, the research team has developed two abstract programming languages – Karma which uses flowcharts, and OptRAD which uses probabilistic algorithms. Potential applications for individual or small groups of RoboBees include covert surveillance and the detection of harmful chemicals.

Previously, parties such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have raised concerns about the civilian privacy impacts of military and government use of miniature flying robots. In some areas, such as the state of Texas and the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, regulators have restricted their use by the general public.

According to the project researchers, the "pop-up" manufacturing process would enable fully automated mass production of RoboBees in the future. Harvard's Wyss Institute is in the process of commercializing the folding and pop-up techniques invented for the project.

Technical specifications

RoboBee's wingspan is 3 centimeters (1.2 in), which is believed to be the smallest man-made wingspan to achieve flight. The wings can flap 120 times per second and be controlled remotely in real time. Each RoboBee weighs 80 milligrams (0.0028 oz).

Concerns about robotic bees and sustainability

The idea that robotic crop pollination can counter the decline in pollinators has gained wide popularity recently. Researchers from the fields of bee pollination, bee health, bee conservation, and agroecology have argued that RoboBee and other materially engineered artificial pollinators are a technically and economically infeasible solution at present and pose substantial ecological and moral risks: (1) despite recent advances, robot-assisted pollination is far from being able to replace bees to pollinate crops efficiently; (2) using robots is very unlikely to be economically viable; (3) there would be unacceptably high environmental costs; (4) wider ecosystems would be damaged; (5) it would erode the values of biodiversity; and, (6) relying on robotic pollination could actually lead to major food insecurity.

See also

References

  1. Project website of the Wyss Institute, Harvard - https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/autonomous-flying-microrobots-robobees/
  2. ^ "RoboBees: Robotic insects make first controlled flight (w/ video)". Phys.org. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Rachel Ross (July 19, 2007). "Robotic Insect Takes Off". Technology Review. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
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