Robots have definitely captured the imagination of mankind, such as Softbank’s Pepper robot making its way to France to assist in a Carrefour hypermarket, offering suggestions to customers as and when required. Having said that, here is a robot that is not so friendly to humans, but it does have its fair share of practical purposes, too. The RoboBee happens to be a robot that is insect-like in design, being able to fly about in our atmosphere, as well as take to the water like a duck.
Thanks to the team of engineers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), the RoboBee has a smaller form factor than that of a paperclip, allowing it to fly rather easily. More recently would be the efforts of the engineers that manage to modify its flapping technique, so that should the RoboBee be required to take a swim, it can do so without missing a beat.
Being able to operate both in the air and underwater is a challenge that has been overcome with the RoboBee, where the SEAS team drew inspiration from the puffin, a bird that can fly and swim, as and when the need arises. The RoboBee tips the scales at a mere 80 milligrams, and will rely on flat layers of laser-cut carbon fiber that have been carefully hinged together using embedded plastic in order to form a frame. Piezoelectric actuators are used to power the plastic wings at 120 beats per second so that it can fly. [Press Release]
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