{"id":6148,"date":"2025-04-20T13:16:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T04:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=6148"},"modified":"2025-04-20T13:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T04:16:12","slug":"harvard-equips-its-robobee-with-crane-fly-inspired-touchdown-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=6148","title":{"rendered":"Harvard equips its RoboBee with crane fly-inspired touchdown gear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_583543\" style=\"width: 780px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-583543\" class=\"size-full wp-image-583543\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured.jpg\" alt=\"A comparison shot shows the relative size of the current RoboBee platform with a penny, a previous iteration of the RoboBee, and a crane fly. \" width=\"770\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured-150x97.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/robobee-featured-368x238.jpg 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-583543\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A comparability shot reveals the relative dimension of the present RoboBee platform with a penny, a earlier iteration of the RoboBee, and a crane fly. | Supply: Harvard College<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Practically eight years in the past, Harvard College researchers unveiled RoboBee, a small, hybrid robotic that might fly, dive, and swim. Now, engineers on the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory have outfitted RoboBee with its most dependable touchdown gear thus far, impressed by the crane fly.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/seas.harvard.edu\/person\/robert-wood\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Wooden<\/a>, the Harry Lewis and Marlyn McGrath Professor of Engineering and Utilized Sciences within the John A. Paulson Faculty of Engineering and Utilized Sciences (<a href=\"https:\/\/seas.harvard.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEAS<\/a>), led the group. The researchers have given their <a href=\"https:\/\/seas.harvard.edu\/news\/2017\/10\/new-robobee-flies-dives-swims-and-explodes-out-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flying<\/a> robotic a set of lengthy, jointed legs that assist ease its transition from air to floor.<\/p>\n<p>They\u00a0additionally outfitted RoboBee with an up to date <a style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/category\/technologies\/controllers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">controller<\/a> that helps it decelerate on strategy, leading to a delicate plop-down.<\/p>\n<p>These enhancements are meant to guard the robotic\u2019s delicate piezoelectric actuators. These are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/robobee-becomes-more-resilient-soft-muscles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">energy-dense \u201cmuscle tissue\u201d<\/a> deployed for flight which are simply fractured by exterior forces from tough landings and collisions.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_53 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-69e73e33de05e\" ><span class=\"\"><span style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input aria-label=\"Toggle\" aria-label=\"item-69e73e33de05e\"  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69e73e33de05e\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=6148\/#RoboBee_will_get_higher_at_touchdown\" title=\"RoboBee will get higher at touchdown\">RoboBee will get higher at touchdown<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=6148\/#Researchers_draw_inspiration_from_nature\" title=\"Researchers draw inspiration from nature\">Researchers draw inspiration from nature<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/?p=6148\/#Researchers_look_forward_to_RoboBee_purposes\" title=\"Researchers look forward to RoboBee purposes\">Researchers look forward to RoboBee purposes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"RoboBee_will_get_higher_at_touchdown\"><\/span>RoboBee will get higher at touchdown<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Touchdown has been problematic for the RoboBee partly due to how small and lightweight it&#8217;s. The robotic weighs only a tenth of a gram and has a wingspan of three cm. Earlier iterations suffered from important floor impact, or instability on account of air vortices from its flapping wings. That is very like the groundward-facing full-force gales generated by helicopter propellers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeforehand, if we have been to go in for a touchdown, we\u2019d flip off the car somewhat bit above the bottom and simply drop it, and pray that it&#8217;s going to land upright and safely,\u201d stated Christian Chan, co-first writer and a graduate pupil who led the mechanical redesign of the robotic.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/scirobotics.adq3059?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D64464416490170339583469852666921580824%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1745007342\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">paper<\/a> describes the enhancements it made to the robotic\u2019s controller, or mind, to adapt to the bottom results because it approaches. That is an effort led by co-first writer and former postdoctoral researcher Nak-seung Patrick Hyun. Hyun led managed touchdown exams on a leaf, in addition to inflexible surfaces.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Researchers_draw_inspiration_from_nature\"><\/span>Researchers draw inspiration from nature<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"IIuBagiw17U\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"RoboBee inspired by crane flies\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IIuBagiw17U?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe profitable touchdown of any flying car depends on minimizing the speed because it approaches the floor earlier than affect and dissipating vitality rapidly after the affect,\u201d stated Hyun, now an assistant professor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/tag\/purdue-university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Purdue College<\/a>. \u201cEven with the tiny wing flaps of RoboBee, the bottom impact is non-negligible when flying near the floor, and issues can worsen after the affect because it bounces and tumbles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lab regarded to nature to encourage mechanical upgrades for skillful flight and sleek touchdown on quite a lot of terrains. The scientists selected the crane fly, a comparatively slow-moving, innocent insect that emerges from spring to fall and is usually mistaken for a large mosquito.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe scale and scale of our platform\u2019s wingspan and physique dimension was pretty just like crane flies,\u201d Chan stated.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers famous that crane flies\u2019 lengthy, jointed appendages probably give the bugs the power to dampen their landings. Crane flies are additional characterised by their short-duration flights. A lot of their temporary grownup lifespan (days to a few weeks) is spent touchdown and taking off.<\/p>\n<p>Contemplating specimen information from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/tag\/harvard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harvard\u2019s<\/a> Museum of Comparative Zoology database, the group created prototypes of various leg architectures. It will definitely settled on designs just like a crane fly\u2019s leg segmentation and joint location. The lab used manufacturing strategies pioneered within the Harvard Microrobotics Lab for adapting the stiffness and damping of every joint.<\/p>\n<p>Postdoctoral researcher and co-author Alyssa Hernandez introduced her biology experience to the undertaking, having obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard\u2019s Division of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the place she studied insect locomotion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoboBee is a superb platform to discover the interface of biology and robotics,\u201d she stated. \u201cLooking for bioinspiration inside the superb range of bugs presents us numerous avenues to proceed enhancing the robotic. Reciprocally, we are able to use these robotic platforms as instruments for organic analysis, producing research that take a look at biomechanical hypotheses.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-568305\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/RSE25_728x90_RegNow-1_Vs1.jpg\" alt=\"SITE AD for the 2025 Robotics Summit registration.\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roboticssummit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Register now so you do not miss out!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Researchers_look_forward_to_RoboBee_purposes\"><\/span>Researchers look forward to RoboBee purposes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>At the moment, the RoboBee stays tethered to off-board management methods. The group stated it would proceed to give attention to scaling up the car and incorporating onboard electronics to provide the robotic sensor, energy, and management autonomy. These three applied sciences will enable the RoboBee platform to really take off, asserted the researchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe longer-term objective is full autonomy, however within the interim, we&#8217;ve got been working via challenges for electrical and mechanical elements utilizing tethered units,\u201d stated Wooden. \u201cThe protection tethers have been, unsurprisingly, getting in the best way of our experiments, and so secure touchdown is one essential step to take away these tethers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The RoboBee\u2019s diminutive dimension and insect-like flight prowess provide intriguing prospects for future purposes, stated the researchers. This might embody environmental monitoring and catastrophe surveillance.<\/p>\n<p>Amongst Chan\u2019s favourite potential purposes is synthetic pollination. This may contain swarms of RoboBees buzzing round vertical farms and gardens of the longer term.<\/p>\n<p>The Nationwide Science Basis (NSF) Graduate Analysis Fellowship Program underneath Grant No. DGE 2140743 supported this analysis.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_583544\" style=\"width: 1290px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-583544\" class=\"size-full wp-image-583544\" src=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite.png\" alt=\"A composite image of the Harvard RoboBee landing on a leaf.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite-1024x561.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite-150x82.png 150w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite-768x421.png 768w, https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Leaf_Landing_Composite-368x202.png 368w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-583544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A composite picture of the RoboBee touchdown on a leaf. | Supply: Harvard College<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/02\/22-rdf-syntax-ns#\"\n\t\t\txmlns:dc=\"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/elements\/1.1\/\"\n\t\t\txmlns:trackback=\"http:\/\/madskills.com\/public\/xml\/rss\/module\/trackback\/\">\n\t\t<rdf:Description rdf:about=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/harvard-equips-robobee-crane-fly-inspired-landing-gear\/\"\n    dc:identifier=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/harvard-equips-robobee-crane-fly-inspired-landing-gear\/\"\n    dc:title=\"Harvard equips its RoboBee with crane fly-inspired landing gear\"\n    trackback:ping=\"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/harvard-equips-robobee-crane-fly-inspired-landing-gear\/trackback\/\" \/>\n<\/rdf:RDF>-->\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A comparability shot reveals the relative dimension of the present RoboBee platform with a penny, a earlier iteration of the RoboBee, and a crane fly. | Supply: Harvard College Practically eight years in the past, Harvard College researchers unveiled RoboBee, a small, hybrid robotic that might fly, dive, and swim. Now, engineers on the Harvard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-robotics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6149,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6148\/revisions\/6149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aireviewirush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}