Tech

Meet tiny robot that perches like an insect

Published

8 years ago

May 20, 2016

Meet tiny robot that perches like an insect

A Harvard-turned-MIT researcher and his colleagues just dropped some pretty cool Spider-Man tech in the latest issue of Science magazine: surface clinging via “electrostatic adhesion.” It’s a widely applicable breakthrough that will, for instance, keep future robots perched while they wait for instructions.

Flying drones use a lot of energy hovering, but the researchers, who hail from institutes across the U.S. and Hong Kong, may have found the first step in a path to conserving energy during activity. Like birds and insects, drones could save tons of energy if they were able to “perch” instead of hovering.

Now a tiny drone has accomplished a similar feat without talons or tape. Using electro-adhesion, team made this little robot “cling” to a surface–pretty much the same way a balloon clings to you with static electricity.

It’s not enough energy to hold up a person, for instance, but it’s a start.

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