Harvard's Robotic Bee Gets Swimming Ability

Harvard's robotic bee, aptly dubbed RoboBee, has been updated with new powers, in this case, swimming. The device is smaller than a paper clip and equipped with wings that allow it to fly around like an insect. It's not the first tiny robot we've seen, but it is quickly becoming one of the most functional. Recently the researchers working on RoboBee revealed that it can now swim in water, making it suitable for at least two types of environments.

Small robotic insects can serve a number of purposes: they can be used for spying, which is one of the bigger concerns related to them. They can also be used to slip into the small spaces between rubble to search for survivors in the event of a natural disaster. Issues with battery life and autonomy are still being ironed out, but progress, by all accounts, is going well.

In the case of Harvard's own RoboBee, it is shackled to a tether and does not operate independently of the operator. That may change in the future, but it seems the researchers are more concerned with tackling diverse terrains. While many robotic insects exist, few are known that can handle more than one type of environment.

On Tuesday, Harvard researchers revealed that they've successfully gotten RoboBee to swim, making it as suitable for underwater snooping as aerial adventures. No changes to the hardware were necessary to pull this off. That means future swarms of bees can't be outrun by jumping in a pond. Going back from the water into the air is another issue, though.

SOURCE: IEEE