Insect-inspired AI for autonomous robots

GCHE de Croon, JJG Dupeyroux, SB Fuller… - Science robotics, 2022 - science.org
Autonomous robots are expected to perform a wide range of sophisticated tasks in complex,
unknown environments. However, available onboard computing capabilities and algorithms …

A review of energy supply for biomachine hybrid robots

Z Ma, J Zhao, L Yu, M Yan, L Liang, X Wu… - Cyborg and Bionic …, 2023 - spj.science.org
Biomachine hybrid robots have been proposed for important scenarios, such as wilderness
rescue, ecological monitoring, and hazardous area surveying. The energy supply unit used …

Wind dispersal of battery-free wireless devices

V Iyer, H Gaensbauer, TL Daniel, S Gollakota - Nature, 2022 - nature.com
Plants cover a large fraction of the Earth's land mass despite most species having limited to
no mobility. To transport their propagules, many plants have evolved mechanisms to …

Miniature optoelectronic compound eye camera

ZY Hu, YL Zhang, C Pan, JY Dou, ZZ Li, ZN Tian… - Nature …, 2022 - nature.com
Inspired by insect compound eyes (CEs) that feature unique optical schemes for imaging,
there has recently been growing interest in developing optoelectronic CE cameras with …

Electrostatic footpads enable agile insect-scale soft robots with trajectory control

J Liang, Y Wu, JK Yim, H Chen, Z Miao, H Liu, Y Liu… - Science Robotics, 2021 - science.org
Agility and trajectory control are two desirable features for robotics, but they become very
challenging for soft robots without rigid structures to support rapid manipulations. Here, a …

Solar-powered shape-changing origami microfliers

K Johnson, V Arroyos, A Ferran, R Villanueva, D Yin… - Science Robotics, 2023 - science.org
Using wind to disperse microfliers that fall like seeds and leaves can help automate large-
scale sensor deployments. Here, we present battery-free microfliers that can change shape …

Biohybrid robots: recent progress, challenges, and perspectives

VA Webster-Wood, M Guix, NW Xu… - Bioinspiration & …, 2022 - iopscience.iop.org
The past ten years have seen the rapid expansion of the field of biohybrid robotics. By
combining engineered, synthetic components with living biological materials, new robotics …

Intelligent insect–computer hybrid robot: Installing innate obstacle negotiation and onboard human detection onto cyborg insect

PT Tran-Ngoc, DL Le, BS Chong… - Advanced Intelligent …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Developing small mobile robots for Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) is a major challenge
due to constraints in size and power required to perform vital functions such as obstacle …

Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Swimming Robots with Embedded Microfluidic Networks and Photothermal Switch for Controllable Marangoni Propulsion

JW Mao, DD Han, H Zhou, HB Sun… - Advanced Functional …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Chemical Marangoni propulsion enables dynamic and untethered motion by generating
surface tension gradient through chemical release, thereby having great potential for the …

A gyroscope-free visual-inertial flight control and wind sensing system for 10-mg robots

S Fuller, Z Yu, YP Talwekar - Science Robotics, 2022 - science.org
Tiny “gnat robots,” weighing just a few milligrams, were first conjectured in the 1980s. How to
stabilize one if it were to hover like a small insect has not been answered. Challenges …