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Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
Tiny insect-sized flying machines from MIT can fly for up to 17 minutes despite weighing less than a gram.
(Less than a gram, flies for 17 minutes)
The research team's updated approach reduces the number of wings from eight to four. That not only stabilizes them and improves their ability to lift the sub-gram bot off the ground, but also makes room for additional electronic components.These wings use soft actuators made from layers of elastomer sandwiched between thin carbon nanotube electrodes that are rolled into a cylinder – a sort of artificial muscle. When these muscles rapidly compress and elongate, they generate mechanical force that causes the wings to flap.
The revamped design ensures there's less strain on these artificial muscles when they move at high frequencies. There are also longer hinges that are better at handling stress from the flapping wings. Each robot fits in a 4 cm x 4 cm (1.575 x 1.575 inches) square.
Generations of science fiction fans have been raised on the expectation that these tiny flying bots are possible. Consider the scarab robot flying insect from Raymond Z. Gallun's 1936 classic The Scarab, which was just about the same size as MIT's flyer:
The Scarab paused on its perch for a moment, as if to determine for itself whether it was perfectly fit for action. It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length... Its body had a metallic sheen, and its vitals were far more intricate than those of the finest watch...
A more modern example would be the aerostat monitor from The Diamond Age (1995) by Neal Stephenson:
Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays. Nanotech materials were stronger. Computers were infinitesimal. Power supplies were much more potent...a device built with several thrusters pointed along different axes could remain in one position or indeed navigate through space.
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