Susanne Posel | Occupy Corporatism
A team of researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (V-Tech) have created small robots that use bats as their template for flying through the air.
Danesh Tafti, professor of mechanical engineering at V-Tech explained: “There is a lot of interest in recent years in making mico air vehicles. We look at flying creatures for inspiration. Bats are quite unusual. They’ve got a lot of flexibility and very accurate control. They can move their fingers and fine tune their flapping. I haven’t seen any birds that can do that.”
Modeling small robotic flying vehicles after bats has opened up opportunities for these researchers to suppose the possibility that these machines could perform search and rescue missions after an earthquake.
The robots are 8 to 12 inches long and weigh 3.5 to 7 ounces.
They are being supposed for flying in swarms for search and rescue purposes; as well as military applications and hunting down terrorists.
Tafti said: “It could have a lot of uses. Think of it being able to go into small spaces. They could fly alone or be let out in a swarm, communicating with each other and sharing information.”
Researchers from the Center for Neuroscience Research at the University of Adelaide in Australia are using the example provided by dragonflies to perfect bug-sized robots that could be utilized in information gathering and surveillance operations.
By studying insects, a team headed by Steven Wiederman and David O’Carroll, scientists are focused on improving artificial vision for robotics and to develop neural prosthetics.
The advantage discovered with dragonflies is their specialized visual circuit that facilitates the ability to see moving objects in the dark.
Bother Carroll and Wiederman are working on creating a synthetic version of the dragonfly’s visual circuit to be added to autonomous robots that could mimic an insect’s movements.
At the North Carolina State University (NCSU), researchers are developing hundreds of cyborg cockroaches to scurry and help emergency room responders with containment after an earthquake, nuclear reactor disaster or chemical spill.
This research will be presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (ICIRS) next month.
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