Harvard researchers have built an artificial fly that
flies like real fly. One day it could provide discreet surveillance
of suspects, detect hazardous materials and disrupt battlefield
communications.
The artificial fly is about the size of a horsefly, according to
a report in Technology Review. The mainly carbon-fibre device
weighs 60 grams and has a 3cm wingspan. For now it flies on a
tether that also supplies power.
Researchers in Harvard's
Microrobotics
Lab, led by
Robert
Wood, plan to give the fly more autonomy with a portable power
pack and untethered flight.
The US Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, which funded the original internet, is paying
to develop robofly.