So Its Now Down To Really Being The Fly on the Wall Technological TimeHarvard Professor, Robert Wood and his team have developed a tiny micro-robotic fly, that is actually able to fly using the wing structure and motions based on a fly. Most impressively, however, is the actuating composite motor that powers the wings is 5 times more powerful for its weight than the muscles of a real fly.
This is the first robotic fly that is able to generate enough thrust to takeoff, and will be showcased at New York's Museum of Modern Art starting Feb. 24. The life-size Flybot has a wingspan of 1.2 inches (3 cm) and weighs a mere 0.002 ounces (60 mg). This project has received funding from DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies.
Manipulation of 200 micron and smaller components using the OrthoTweezers manipulator is the key for automated millirobot assembly. They are also developing a low cost (<$1000)) desktop factory which will allow users to build millirobots from a kit of components.
Sources One and Two
