Miniature drones will be little distinguishable from insects. Yesterday, March 2, the press service of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) revealed a new development — a miniature flying robot with insect wings.
The MIT press service points out that the key feature of the new development is strength, stability and high maneuverability. The robot weighs only 0.6 g, and thanks to soft actuators made of thin rubber cylinders covered with carbon nanotubes, it can rotate its wings at a speed of 500 strokes per second.
Flight of an insect-like robot developed by MIT
"The main alternative so far has been to use a small rigid drive made of piezoelectric ceramic materials. Although piezoelectric ceramics allowed the first generation of tiny robots to take off, they are quite fragile. And this is a problem when you create a robot that simulates an insect-bumblebees that collect food suffer a collision about once a second, " the MIT press service reported.
The author of the development is MIT associate professor Kevin Yufeng Chen. According to him, promising robots the size of an insect will be able to produce artificial pollination, conduct inspections in cramped conditions and help rescuers find people under the rubble.
