Researchers at the University of Bristol in England have developed a new mechanical drive system that allows autonomous insect-sized robots to fly by flapping wings. The electromechanical compaction method eliminates the use of conventional motors and gears.
Currently, flying microrobots use complex propulsion and transmission systems to perform the up and down movement of the wings. However, this approach often adds weight and unwanted aerodynamic effects, causing imbalance and loss of efficiency during flight.
“We took our inspiration from bees and other flying insects to create a direct-drive artificial muscular system that achieves the same performance as wing movement, enabling the future miniaturization of more agile autonomous robots,” explains robotics professor Jonathan Rossiter, co-author. of the study.
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LAZA
The system called Liquid Amplified Compaction Actuator (LAZA) is made up of two miniaturized wings, capable of delivering a greater amount of energy compared to real insect muscles of the same size and weight.
In laboratory tests, the prototype winged robot gained enough energy to fly across a room at a speed 18 times its own body size per second. In addition, scientists have demonstrated that the system maintains consistent wing beats for over a million cycles.
“These results are important for manufacturing more efficient autonomous robots that can perform long-distance flights without the need for a human operator to supervise the work,” adds engineering professor Tim Helps, lead author of the project.
small and powerful
The flying robots have 50 millimeter-long passive launch wings mounted on a dragonfly-sized LAZA system. This configuration guarantees a directional thrust of up to 5.73 millinewtons while consuming just 273 milliwatts of electricity.
It seems little, but this thrust-to-power ratio corresponds to 23.6 newtons per kilowatt, a force similar to that obtained by much larger equipment such as helicopter rotors or high-end commercial drone engines. In addition, these little robots can travel at a speed of 0.71 meters per second.
“We apply electrostatic forces directly to the wings, rather than using a complex and inefficient transmission system. This leads to better performance, with a simpler design that will provide a new class of low-cost aerial vehicles, which can be used in plant pollination or in missions to rescue buried people”, concludes Professor Jonathan Rossiter.
