Soft Robotic Insect Survives Being Flattened by a Flyswatter

摘要

Researchers have developed a soft robotic insect propelled at 3 cm per second by artificial muscles. Two versions of the soft robot, dubbed DEAnsect, were developed. The first, which is tethered using ultra-thin wires, is exceptionally robust. It can be folded, hit with a flyswatter, or squashed by a shoe without impacting its ability to move. The second is an untethered model that is fully wireless and autonomous, weighing less than 1 gram and carrying its battery and all electronic components on its back. This intelligent insect is equipped with a microcontroller for a brain and photodiodes as eyes, allowing it to recognize black and white patterns, enabling DEAnsect to follow any line drawn on the ground.