Micro Flying vehicle“Microbotics”

IntroductionINSPIRED by the biology of a bee and

the insect’s hive behavior ...we aim to push advances in miniature

robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic “smart” sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines. 

Body, Brain and Colony The proposed research neatly falls into

three categories: body, brain, and colony.

Brain, Body and Colony

BodyExplore ways to emulate such

aerobatic feats in their proposed devices.

Achieving autonomous flight requires: - compact high-energy power sources

and associated electronics, integrated seamlessly into the ‘body’ of the machine.

BodyRevolve around construction of a

flapping-wing robot. Exploration of several aspects of free

flight mechanics and performance.

Body

BrainOne of the most complicated areas of

exploration the scientists will undertake will be the creation of:

“A suite of artificial “smart” sensors, akin to a bee’s eyes and antennae”.

BrainUltimate aim is: Design the dynamic hardware and

software that serves as the device’s ‘brain,’:

- Controlling and monitoring flight, - Sensing objects such as fellow devices and other objects, - Coordinating simple decision-making.

Brain“The brain incorporates - All of the sensors, - Control (i.e. algorithms and software), - Circuitry (i.e., hardware)

to coordinate flight and target identification capabilities of the RoboBees”.

Brain

Colony To mimic the sophisticated behavior of

a real colony of insects will involve: -Sophisticated coordination

algorithms, -communications methods (i.e., the

ability for individual machines to ‘talk’ to one another and the hive),

-Global-to-local programming tools to simulate the ways groups of real bees rely upon one another to scout, forage, and plan.

Colony

Why Coordination neded? Coordinated behavior by the colony has

the potential to dramatically increase effectiveness over each RoboBee operating independently.

Practical Applications

Autonomously pollinating a field of crops.

search and rescue (e.g., in the aftermath of a natural disaster).

hazardous environment exploration.Security and Military surveillance.Traffic monitoring.

Conclusion In mimicking the physical and

behavioral robustness of insect groups by coordinating large numbers of small, agile robots, many applications that have been achieved will be faster, more reliable, and more efficient.

ReferencesHo-Yin Chan, Josh Hiu Man Lam, and

Wen J. Li, “A Biomimetic Flying Silicon Microchip: Feasibility Study”, Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE, pp 22-26

http://micro.seas.harvard.edu/research.html

http://robobees.seas.harvard.edu/