The humble honeybee may only be small , but scientists are hoping to use its brain to power a series of futuristic-style drones . Boffins are currently working towards digitally recreating the cognitive abilities of the Apis Mellifera or European Honeybee . Their final aim is to build a robot that thinks , senses and acts just like the tiny insects . Scientists are working towards building a robot that thinks , senses and acts just like a honeybee . Professor James Marshall said if they were able to recreate a fraction of the honeybees ability they would have made 'tremendous advances ' The artificial brain is being created by the Green Brain Project , which is a collaboration between researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex . One day it is hoped the remote controlled machines could be used to pollinate crops or even assist on search and rescue missions . 'Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling , ' Professor James Marshall reportedly told the BBC . 'If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance . ' Building an artificial brain is a complex process and so far , scientist have only managed to clone the part of the bee 's brain which allows it to see . To do this they mapped out the brain of the honeybee and recreated it with circuits that fire on and off in an organic brain , Discovery Magazine reported . The software is then uploaded into the drone 's circuitry which enables it to fly around in a similar fashion to the bee . The projects team now has three quadcopters and one ground robot , each with unique abilities and configurations . Tests are being carried out in a dedicated flying room based at the University of Sheffield . In a video footage showing initial tests the drone , powered by the artificial bee brain , can be seen flying down a corridor . On the Green Brain website it states : 'Since the start of the project , the GB team has setup the lab , built and tested our robots , and begun to demonstrate some sophisticated visual-based navigation and cognitive functions through embodiment . 'Current projects include navigation using the GB models , flight tests of our models with the BeeBot quadcopter , developing a Ground Control Station , initial testing with the chemosensors and more . ' Building an artificial brain is a complex process and so far , scientist have only managed to clone the part of the bee 's brain which allows it to see .
Scientists aim to build robot that thinks , senses and acts like honeybee . So far team has managed to replicate part of brain that allows bee to see . Score: 6