Flying robots—the idea occupies a space between really cool science fiction and creepy dystopia, although new research is attempting to make robot flight more efficient by examining nature and the flight characteristics of beetles.
According to a new study, published in the journal Nature, researchers have developed microrobot wings that mimic the unique flight capabilities of beetles, taking inspiration from the intricate mechanisms of beetle wings.
“Insects are everywhere around us. They are tiny, but can fly and access confined spaces that humans cannot,” Hoang-Vu Phan, lead author from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, told The Debrief. “The way they power their agile flights with flapping wings is different from, and often outperforms that of conventional man-made drones.”
Phan and the research team took their inspiration from the flight abilities of rhinoceros beetles. By analyzing the wing deployment and retraction mechanisms of these insects, they were able to create a novel wing design that can be applied to microrobots.
The key to the beetles’ unique flight capabilities lies in their wing structure. Unlike birds and bats, which use muscles to flap their wings, beetles rely on a passive system of hinges and levers to deploy and retract their wings. This mechanism allows them to generate lift and thrust with remarkable efficiency, making them one of the most agile flyers in the insect world. Very basically, beetles keep it simple.
Phan has been studying beetle wings for use in robotics for years now, previously discovering that certain insects have origami-like folds in their wings, and in the case of the rhinoceros beetle, their hindwings had a unique ability.
“Their wings can rapidly and passively collapse upon collision and spring back in place, allowing the beetle to recover stable flight,” Phan explained. “This led me to question whether the beetles use a passive strategy to deploy and retract their hindwings.”
Using high-speed cameras and advanced computer simulations to study the wing movements of rhinoceros beetles, the researchers discovered that the beetles’ wings can deploy and retract in milliseconds, generating a rapid series of oscillations that create lift and thrust. Armed with this knowledge, the researchers set out to create a microrobot wing that could mimic the beetles’ flight capabilities. They designed a wing with a similar hinge-and-lever mechanism, which allows it to deploy and retract rapidly, generating the same oscillations that create lift and thrust.
Many flying robots today utilize flapping wings, and to retract and deploy those wings, engineers usually install additional actuators, such as servomotors. However, as Phan explains, this adds more mass and complexity to flapping robots. With the old adage that fewer moving parts are best in mind, Phan and the team are looking at a much simpler solution.
“By using the simple passive mechanism in this work, the flapping robots can effortlessly deploy and retract their wings without additional actuators,” Phan said. “By neatly resting their vulnerable wings along their body after flight, flapping microrobots now become more compact. This allows them not only to reduce wing damage risk but also to move more easily through narrow spaces when on the ground.”
According to the study, the microrobot wing was able to generate lift and thrust with remarkable efficiency, allowing it to fly with agility and precision. The wing’s ability to deploy and retract rapidly also enabled it to make sharp turns and quick changes in direction.
Due to its lightweight, this new wing design could enable the creation of smaller, more agile flying robots that can easily navigate dense forests or urban environments.
Phan also believes that this design could also be scaled up to create larger flying robots, which could be used for a variety of applications, from search and rescue to environmental monitoring and surveillance.
While the study’s findings are certainly impressive, the researchers acknowledge that there is still much work to be done. The microrobot wing is still in its early stages of development, and further research is needed to refine its design and improve its performance.
In addition to flight, insects can seamlessly navigate between aerial and terrestrial environments by perching, crawling, and more,” Phan concluded. These capabilities have inspired us to study insect locomotive biomechanics and build robotic replicas for more than ten years.”
The potential of this technology is undeniable, and perhaps we can expect to see a new generation of flying robots that are faster, more agile, and more efficient than ever before. Flying robots that keep it simple, much like the humble beetle.
MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.