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Robotic Fly to Descend on New York

Posted by Zonk on from the now-you-can-be-the-fly-on-the-wall dept.

DeviceGuru writes "Harvard University's tiny microrobotic fly, hailed by its creators as 'the first robotic fly that is able to generate enough thrust to takeoff,' will be showcased at New York's Museum of Modern Art starting Feb. 24. The life-sized 'Flybot' reportedly has a wingspan of 1.2 inches (3 cm) and weighs a mere 0.002 ounces (60 mg). This project of the Harvard University Microbotics Lab has received funding from DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies."

29 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Won't be long now by KublaiKhan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The expression "I wish I was a fly on the wall when $EVENT happened" is soon to become reality...

    --
    In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
    A stately pleasure dome decree
    1. Re:Won't be long now by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Bringing the rise of a new expression...

      "I wish my fly on the wall had batteries that lasted more than 15 minutes!"

      I don't care how small they make it, until it has hours of power in it, it's nothing but a expensive toy.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:Won't be long now by KublaiKhan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I mentioned in a comment down the page a bit that by the time they get a decent avionics package scaled for the thing, all that broadcast power research that folks keep talking about will have caught on, at least a little bit.

      Or perhaps they could take a leaf from that UAV design that was in the news a while ago that would supposedly leech power from distribution lines--a similar idea, but scaled down to fly size. You wouldn't need more than a few microwatts to power a fly, I shouldn't think, and you could probably get that from induction by sitting on a lamp cord or something.

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
  2. This Revolutionizes Woody Allen's Comedy by eldavojohn · · Score: 3, Funny

    Woody Allen: Waiter, there is a DARPA robotic fly in my soup!
    Waiter: Don't worry sir that GRU robotic spider on your bread will soon get him!

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:This Revolutionizes Woody Allen's Comedy by KublaiKhan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      An amusing notion, but keep in mind where the endpoint for this lies. There's two possible routes, as far as I can see:

      First is the Diamond Age route, where the 'bots go smaller and smaller until they get to the nanoscale, and we end up with 'toner' everywhere.

      The second is building a spider to catch the fly, building a bird to catch the spider, building a cat to catch the bird, et al., until you get up to the point where you're making little old ladies swallow equines to take care of a surveillance bug.

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
    2. Re:This Revolutionizes Woody Allen's Comedy by sm62704 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Waiter: "Ssh! Don't tell anyone, everyone will want one!"

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    3. Re:This Revolutionizes Woody Allen's Comedy by Petaris · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Take that one step beyond surveillance, it probably doesn't take much verve toxin on a tiny needle (fly bite anyone?) to kill a person. :/

      I know that this could be a bit paranoid of me to think this but then, perhaps not? :(

      --
      ~Petaris "The world is open. Are you?"
  3. Good bye privacy by DeeQ · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Welcome Big brother!

    1. Re:Good bye privacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I hope it's used to spy on government officials and secret boardroom dealings.

      Seriously, I'm beginning to think that's only thing that will save our civilization from the evil sociopaths in positions of power ... the knowledge that everything they do and say might be open to public surveillance and scrutiny. I'm actually willing to give up every last shred of my privacy if it also means the end of state secrets, evil backroom dealings, etc.

  4. I don't know what kind of flies they have in NY... by davidbrit2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...But a fly with a 1.2 inch wingspan would be pretty damn conspicuous where I come from.

  5. Robofly/robot-humanoid teleporter accident by davidwr · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can't wait for the robot-themed remake of The Fly.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  6. better yet, politicians by davidwr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now maybe we really can have open government.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  7. No worries... by Radon360 · · Score: 3, Funny

    They are coming out with an equivalent cockroach version in a couple of months. The next generation "fruit fly" model is expected to be available in late 2010.

  8. Sarah Connor is pissed! by jameskojiro · · Score: 2, Funny

    She showed up the other day and put a few bullets in my Sony AIBO, My RoboSapien, and My LEGO mindstorm robot. She was mumbling something about a robot fly in NYC and skynet. I would be carefull you scientists, or she might be comming for you next.

    --
    Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
  9. Domestic "Fly" Surveillance by Dareth · · Score: 4, Funny

    They won't tell us when they start domestic "Fly" surveillance in the US. We will have to guess it will be sometime shortly before or after they outlaw flyswatters.

    I hope I don't get billed for all the lost government property that is swallowed by my cats!

    --

    I only look human.
    My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
  10. Cr@p! Sorry everyone! by cliffiecee · · Score: 5, Informative

    I just tried to visit the site again and triggered the old 'Bandwidth Exceeded' message. My bad....

    Yes, the little flybot does appear to work, although a) it's powererd externally, and b) it's on rails that only allow it to move vertically. The narrator of the video admits that [paraphrasing] "We're missing some things, like an independent, on-board electronics package to control it, and a suitable power source." Basically it's just a pair of (working) wings at this point.

    1. Re:Cr@p! Sorry everyone! by Avatar8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Exactly. From the description of the more complicated systems they still have to develop, I think they'd be better off working on micro cameras that a fly can carry and developing a way to control the fly's behavior (where to fly, when to land,etc.). Something more like the cockroach in "Fifth Element."

    2. Re:Cr@p! Sorry everyone! by Ed+Avis · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's on rails? Why on earth haven't there been fifty Slashdot stories already?

      --
      -- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
  11. Oblig by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Funny

    Customer: Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?

    Waiter: Watching your every move.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  12. A better showplace... by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Maybe a better venue would be to show it at The Museum Of Modern Fascism.

    On the other hand, your basic laws of scaling are going to be an effective law to limit the usefulness of these gadgets. The battery power goes down as the cube, while the air resistance is at least one power below that, so they're going to be mighty short-lived, like seconds rather than minutes.

    1. Re:A better showplace... by KublaiKhan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Keep in mind that another area of research that's getting attention at the moment is broadcast power--so you wouldn't have to have an onboard source, per se, but merely a collector to snag a couple microwatts from the local broadcast basestation. It'll probably take about as long for 'wireless' power like that to become popular as it'll take to develop an effective avionics package for the flybot, so that'll work out nicely.

      --
      In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
      A stately pleasure dome decree
  13. Yay for robotic insect surveillance! by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I like this- I've written one of these into a book. I had it powered by a broadcast infrared beam aimed at it, and a character fools with it by blocking the beam, causes it to falter, and then is embarrassed because he was caught interfering with it while it was working :)

    If the surveillance culture thing bothers you, keep working on cracker tech so we can always tap into the wireless signal and decode it. Information restriction is going to be impossible. Information parity is where it's at (though it's not going to be a gift- it's probably always going to be a captured prize.) This will tend to create an 'information serf class' which gets lied to by people who are confident they won't be able to sort out the truth.

    Oh wait, got that. I mean in fields like medici.. oh wait. Well... more so :)

  14. When it crashes ... by trolltalk.com · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... Your fly is down!

    --
    Kevin Smith on Prince
  15. Life size? by captaindomon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Three centimeters wingspan is life-size? What kind of flies are they referring to? That's a pretty big fly. A real accomplishment would be a life-size, US house fly, ~0.5 centimeter wingspan.

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
  16. Fly? by Bogtha · · Score: 3, Funny

    the first robotic fly that is able to generate enough thrust to takeoff

    So presumably its predecessors were called robotic walks then?

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  17. The Character of Americans by Wylfing · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am sure the comments will be flooded with alarmists screeching about black helicopter secret governments. I have a different opinion.

    I cannot imagine that any truly great surveillance technology (such as tiny robotic flies) won't be used for selfish purposes -- by all layers of American society. You know your manager wants to spy on you, why not spy on your manager if there's no chance of getting caught? Get some nice juicy dirt! Back-room dirty deals among politicians? It's on Youtube now!

    It's hard to accept, but we're hurtling toward a privacy-free society, including corporate board-rooms, Congressional meetings, NDAs (forget em), and whatever you do in your garage on Thursday nights.

    --
    Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
  18. The Tangible Reality of the Technology by bradgoodman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You can call it "crap" all you want - but guess what! This technology is really on its way - is very real and tangible

    I'm both an engineer and an R/C heli/airplane fan - and I've been pretty amazed at the kind of stuff that's been coming available over just the last few years - and I'm not talking "scientific research" but even commercial products you can find at your local hobby store or mall.

    Lets look:

    Batteries Crazy advances in odd things like Li-Po batteries and "supercaps" which are very light, small, and can charge very quickly.

    Motors Brushless electric motors with much greater power and efficiency. People are literally ripping their gas engines out of their 60-sized helis and replacing them with electric motors and batteries!

    Radios Spread-Spectrum radios which provide operation free of glitches and interference.

    Wireless Video Probibly because of the new CCD stuff from WebCams and the like - there are a billion wireless video "toys" out even for little kids - RC cars with "spy cameras", VEX robotic kits, etc.

    Gyros They keep getting better and better - cheaper and cheaper -helping with stability

    Servos Or the lack of 'em! glue a tiny neodyme magnet on a piece of foam and wrap a wire around it a couple times to control you control surface! They sell tiny foam RC planes based on this

    Stable Helis Counter-rotating helis that are extremely stable - allowing a complete novice to fly indoors quickly. You can even buy one a Brookstones for $29!

    And of course the radios and electronics are of course getting smaller and more integrated. This is an amaizing time for this kind of stuff - I can't wait to see what the next few years will bring!

  19. Re:Video Link by peektwice · · Score: 2, Informative

    And here's the real link

    --
    Other than this text, there is no discernible information contained in this sig.
  20. a side point (probably offtopic) by rabiddeity · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "odd things like Li-Po batteries"

    First thought: Geez, they're putting Polonium in batteries now?

    After a quick googling: Nevermind.

    Please don't call it that. Li is an element, and readers will assume Po refers to the element as well. Li-Poly is much less misleading.