Miniature robot takes flight using magnetic fields, no onboard power

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Forward-looking: Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have unveiled a flying robot that mimics the agility and precision of a bumblebee. Weighing just 21 milligrams and measuring less than one centimeter in diameter, it is the world's smallest wireless robot capable of controlled flight. "Bees exhibit remarkable aeronautical abilities, such as navigation, hovering, and pollination, that artificial flying robots of similar scale fail to do," explained Liwei Lin, distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study. "This flying robot can be wirelessly controlled to approach and hit a designated target, mimicking the mechanism of pollination as a bee collects nectar and flies away." The research was published in Science Advances. Designing a small-scale flying robot posed significant challenges. Traditional flying robots rely on on ... Read full article.