Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Bee+ Robobee Now With Four Wings
I did a number of stories on the original robobee flapping wing robotic insect (see below, click through to see sfnal precursors), but diligent USC researchers have made improvements. Behold Bee+ aka Bee plus.
(Bee+ robo bee plus flying robot)
Enter Xiufeng Yang and pals from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. These guys have developed actuators that are half the weight of previous versions. They used four of them to build a robot with four flapping wings, each with a span of just 33 milimeters. The result is an insect-like flying machine called Bee+. It’s capable of perching, landing, following a path, and avoiding obstacles.The breakthrough is based on a clever piece of engineering. The actuators in the 2013 RoboBee were of a type called bimorphs. These are cantilevers made of two layers of piezoelectric material separated by a passive layer. The piezoelectric layers alternately contract, forcing the cantilever to bend back and forth. This motion drives the flapping of a wing.
But Yang and co have found a way to make them even lighter using an actuator design called a unimorph. Instead of two layers of piezoelectric material, a unimorph uses a single strip attached to a passive layer. The repeated contraction of the piezoelectric layer causes the cantilever to bend. And the movement of the tip of the cantilever drives the flapping of a wing.
Indeed, more advances are desperately needed. Bee+ may be inspired by insects, but at 95 milligrams, it is a behemoth compared with the real creatures. A bumblebee, for example, weighs about a 10 milligrams and is self-powered to boot.
Robobee is a pretty cool flying robot; see these additional stories for science fiction references:
- Robobees To Swarm At Harvard
- Robobee Learns The Waggle Dance
- RoboBee Swarm Replaces Pollinating Insects?
- Harvard's Robobee Has Insect-Inspired Eyes
Via Technology Review.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/11/2019)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.' Arthur Bird, 1899.
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Vipera Electric Skis From Frigid Dynamics
'JOAN strapped on her power-skis...'
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
'He carried on his person a triggering mechanism sensitive to his heartbeat.'
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Imagine digging your heels in to a steam horse!
Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
