{"id":3850,"date":"2019-06-27T16:08:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T07:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/163.180.4.222\/lab\/?p=3850"},"modified":"2019-06-27T16:08:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T07:08:58","slug":"flight-of-the-robobee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=3850","title":{"rendered":"Flight of the RoboBee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>Tiny flying vehicles require intricate design trade-offs and have previously relied on an external power supply. The sustained flight of an untethered, insect-sized robot represents a major advance.<\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__body serif cleared\">\n<p>Going back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci, animal flight has inspired human enquiry, and we have sought to emulate nature by building machines that attempt to fly using flapping wings. In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-019-1322-0\" data-track=\"click\" data-label=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-019-1322-0\" data-track-category=\"body text link\">a paper in\u00a0<i>Nature<\/i><\/a>, Jafferis\u00a0<i>et al.<\/i><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR1\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">1<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0report a key step towards the emulation of insect flight with what they claim to be the lightest insect-scale aerial vehicle so far to have achieved sustained, untethered flight.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"recommended pull pull--left sans-serif\" data-label=\"Related\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-019-1322-0\" data-track=\"click\" data-track-label=\"recommended article\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"recommended__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.nature.com\/w400\/magazine-assets\/d41586-019-01964-3\/d41586-019-01964-3_16845916.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"recommended__title serif\">Read the paper: Untethered flight of an insect-sized flapping-wing microscale aerial vehicle<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Apart from the aesthetic joy of mimicking nature, flapping-wing robots have several potential advantages over the fixed-wing drones and quadcopters (four-rotor helicopters) that have become so popular in commercial and recreational applications. Flapping wings make animals and machines highly agile and manoeuvrable \u2014 for example, bats can fly with ease through basements, caves and dense forests. Moreover, flapping wings typically move with lower tip speeds than do propellers, and are therefore quieter and inflict less damage if they come into contact with people or property.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, biologists can use flapping-wing robots to address fundamental questions about the evolution of flight and the mechanical basis of natural selection. For all these reasons, bio-inspired flapping-wing flight has been an area of intense interest, particularly over the past couple of decades. As a result, there have been impressive advances in our understanding of the aerodynamics and control of bio-inspired robotic flyers<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR2\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">2<\/a><\/sup><sup>,<\/sup><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR3\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">3<\/a><\/sup>, as well as several examples of engineered autonomous flapping robots<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR4\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">4<\/a><\/sup><sup>\u2013<\/sup><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR6\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">6<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>Achieving robotic flight at the insect scale presents three specific challenges. First, the materials used to build the robot must be strong, yet lightweight. Second, human-engineered actuators (devices that convert energy into movement) and batteries are still far from realizing the power and energy densities, respectively, of biological tissue. And third, the sensing and control algorithms that animals routinely use to maintain steady flight and to manoeuvre are mind-bogglingly complex. These algorithms have proved difficult to mimic even with the use of a supercomputer, despite the fact that a typical insect brain has only about a million neurons \u2014 which is orders of magnitude less than the number of components in the processing system of a supercomputer.<\/p>\n<p>Jafferis and colleagues\u2019 work builds on several years of impressive research and development. The authors combine a multitude of diverse technologies in a tour de force of system design and engineering to achieve the sustained flight of an insect-sized robot dubbed the RoboBee X-Wing (Fig. 1). Sustained, powered flight is an energetically demanding mode of transport, and existing battery technology lags far behind nature in its ability to provide a lightweight power source. Previous insect-sized robotic flyers<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR7\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">7<\/a><\/sup><sup>\u2013<\/sup><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR10\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">10<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0have relied on an electrical \u2018tether\u2019 to supply the flight system with the necessary energy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"figure\">\n<div class=\"embed intensity--high\">\n<div class=\"embed intensity--high\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure__image\" src=\"https:\/\/media.nature.com\/w800\/magazine-assets\/d41586-019-01964-3\/d41586-019-01964-3_16826092.jpg\" alt=\"A flying, insect-sized vehicle\" data-src=\"\/\/media.nature.com\/w800\/magazine-assets\/d41586-019-01964-3\/d41586-019-01964-3_16826092.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<p class=\"figure__caption sans-serif\"><span class=\"mr10\"><b>Figure 1 | The RoboBee.<\/b>\u00a0Jafferis\u00a0<i>et al.<\/i><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR1\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">1<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0present a centimetre-sized aerial vehicle that flies using flapping wings. Solar cells, which power the vehicle, are positioned above the wing system; essential electronics are located below this system. The vehicle shown is held by tweezers.<\/span>Credit: Adam DeTour for\u00a0<i>Nature<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The current authors sidestep this problem quite ingeniously, by using solar panels perched on top of the RoboBee. Illumination of the panels by a high-intensity light source provides the approximately 120 milliwatts needed to drive the 259-milligram flight system. This light-powered approach is similar to at least one other demonstration of the lift-off of an ultralight robot<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29#ref-CR6\" data-track=\"click\" data-action=\"anchor-link\" data-track-label=\"go to reference\" data-track-category=\"references\">6<\/a><\/sup>. Jafferis and colleagues\u2019 claim that their robots achieve sustained flight, rather than just jumping or lift-off, is perhaps arguable, and pivots on what is defined as \u201csustained\u201d \u2014 we\u2019ll let historians decide that issue.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Building a lightweight yet strong wing\u2013body structure has always been the first hurdle in the engineering of aircraft. Small flight systems can benefit from the cube\u2013square law whereby, as a vehicle decreases in size, its body mass decreases faster than its wing surface area (which is proportional to the generated lift force). However, other issues are more challenging for small vehicles than for large ones, such as the problem of manufacturing and assembling a robust and precise artificial wing-muscle system.<\/p>\n<p>At the core of the RoboBee is a flapping-wing system made of a composite material and constructed using a process known as laser machining. This process has been a hallmark of the study\u2019s authors, who belong to a research group at the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group has developed a design and manufacturing tool that has evolved and matured to become an invaluable (and enviable) resource for the fabrication of small-scale robotics. The current design of the flapping-wing system uses an innovative four-wing configuration that wiggles back and forth. This motion is driven by integrated piezoelectrics (materials that convert electricity into mechanical forces), and generates sufficient lift with acceptable power demands.<\/p>\n<p>One perennial drawback of piezoelectrics is that, although they can apply large forces to a material, they induce tiny displacements and require high voltages. Key advances in the current work are the optimization of a mechanical transmission to generate the appropriate force\u2013displacement characteristics and the development of a lightweight electronic circuit that converts the low voltages generated by the solar panels into the 200-volt pulses needed to power the piezoelectrics.<\/p>\n<p>All these components are combined to produce the resulting test system \u2014 a tall, gangly device, which has its solar panels perched high above the wing system and its electronics hanging below. It is certainly not the most aesthetically pleasing flyer, but when the lights come on, it lifts off and achieves sustained, autonomous, untethered flight. Although the device by itself is an impressive achievement, equally rewarding is the detailed description of the modelling and design that the team has put into the system. The flight of the RoboBee represents much more than just the sum of the parts. It also reflects the successful compromise that has been achieved between the competing interests of weight, power, control, strength, resilience and even cost.<\/p>\n<p>There is still much work to be done, and we are not quite at the point at which a robot swarm will take to the skies \u2014 as is nightmarishly depicted in dystopian science fiction such as Michael Crichton\u2019s novel\u00a0<i>Prey<\/i>. Jafferis and colleagues\u2019 robot requires intense light to generate sufficient power for take-off (at least three times the intensity of the Sun). Moreover, the robot flies for just under a second before veering off out of view, presumably heading for a crash landing. Nevertheless, advances in battery technologies could soon eliminate the need for solar panels, and with the ever-improving capabilities of small-scale electronics and communication technology, the controlled flight of tiny robots seems within our grasp.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"emphasis\">Nature<\/span>\u00a0<strong>570<\/strong>, 448-449 (2019)<\/p>\n<div class=\"emphasis\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>doi: 10.1038\/d41586-019-01964-3<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>(\uc6d0\ubb38: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-01964-3?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nature%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+-+Issue%29\">\uc5ec\uae30<\/a>\ub97c \ud074\ub9ad\ud558\uc138\uc694~)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Tiny flying vehicles require intricate design trade-offs and have previously relied on an external power supply. The sustained flight of an untethered, insect-sized<a href=\"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=3850\" class=\"more-link\">(more&#8230;)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36,29,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lets-do-physics","category-lets-do-science","category-recent-science-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3861,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=3861","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":0},"title":"Tiny robot bee powered by light takes flight","author":"biochemistry","date":"July 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Machine carries ultra-lightweight solar cells \u2014 and weighs less than a paper clip. \u00a0 \u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=loHzoeFP9Io&feature=youtu.be \ub610\ub294 \uc5ec\uae30\ub97c \ud074\ub9ad\ud558\uc138\uc694~ \u00a0 Read the paper: Untethered flight of an insect-sized flapping-wing microscale aerial vehicle \u00a0 \u00a0 For years, scientists have wanted to create flying robotic vehicles the size of insects. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Let's Do Physics!&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Let's Do Physics!","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=36"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/loHzoeFP9Io\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1189,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=1189","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":1},"title":"All together now\u2026fly!","author":"biochemistry","date":"July 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 (\uc6d0\ubb38: \uc5ec\uae30\ub97c \ud074\ub9ad\ud558\uc138\uc694~) \u00a0 Science\u00a0\u00a020 Jul 2018: Vol. 361, Issue 6399, pp. 240 DOI: 10.1126\/science.361.6399.240-a \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Open in new tab Long-exposure photo of a flight with multiple drones CREDIT: ZSOLT B\u00c9ZSENYI \u00a0 \u00a0 Can the quick, responsive grace of a flock of birds or school of fish\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Let's Do Computer Science!&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Let's Do Computer Science!","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2799,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=2799","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":2},"title":"Inside the ant lab: Mutants and social genes","author":"biochemistry","date":"March 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 An unusual ant species is helping researchers understand the complex behaviour of social insects. \u00a0 \u00a0 Social insects such as ants and bees often have complex societies, but understanding the genetics behind their social interactions can be difficult due to their lifecycles. This lab in New York hopes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Let's Do Biology!&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Let's Do Biology!","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3409,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=3409","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":3},"title":"CRISPR gene-editing creates wave of exotic model organisms","author":"biochemistry","date":"April 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 But the practical challenges of breeding and maintaining unconventional lab animals persist. \u00a0 The Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) alters the camouflage patterns on its skin based on what it sees.Credit: Eric Roettinger\/Kahi Kai Images \u00a0 \u00a0 Joseph Parker has wanted to know what makes rove beetles tick since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Let's Do Biology!&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Let's Do Biology!","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1187,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=1187","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":4},"title":"\ucc45 \uc18c\uac1c &#8211; Physics makes rules, evolution rolls the dice","author":"biochemistry","date":"July 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 (\uc6d0\ubb38: \uc5ec\uae30\ub97c \ud074\ub9ad\ud558\uc138\uc694~) \u00a0 \u00a0 Science\u00a0\u00a020 Jul 2018: Vol. 361, Issue 6399, pp. 236 DOI: 10.1126\/science.aat7776 \u00a0 \u00a0Open in new tab\u00a0 \u00a0Open in new tab Constrained by the same laws of physics, alien life forms should look familiar to us, argues Cockell. PHOTO: BIOSPHOTO\/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO \u00a0 \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Essays on Science&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Essays on Science","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2580,"url":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?p=2580","url_meta":{"origin":3850,"position":5},"title":"On the road to a gene drive in mammals","author":"biochemistry","date":"January 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 A method for making a version of a gene more likely to be inherited than normal, generating what is called a gene drive, might be used to control insect populations. It has now been reported to work in mammals, too. \u00a0 When Gregor Mendel tracked pea-plant characteristics over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Let's Do Biology!&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Let's Do Biology!","link":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/?cat=33"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Xo1j-106","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3851,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3850\/revisions\/3851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biochemistry.khu.ac.kr\/lab\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}