Researchers have developed the first fully autonomous robotic flying insect. Previous robo-insects were tethered to an external power source, as the electronics required for their operation were so heavy. Now, engineers from the University of Washington have come up with a solution, the RoboFly, which is powered by an invisible laser beam pointed at a photovoltaic cell on the robot that converts the laser light into enough electricity to operate its wings. According to Goldman Sachs, the three largest industries for drones are construction, agriculture and insurance, with the total current market value for each at $11 million, $5 million and $1.4 million, respectively. The researchers say they are working toward developing this technology in order to make it easier and cheaper to build insect-sized robots capable of carrying out tasks such as surveying or monitoring crops.
Researchers have developed the first fully autonomous robotic flying insect. Previous robo-insects were tethered to an external power source, as the electronics required for their operation were so heavy. Now, engineers from the University of Washington have come up with a solution, the RoboFly, which is powered by an invisible laser beam pointed at a photovoltaic cell on the robot that converts the laser light into enough electricity to operate its wings. The researchers say they are working toward developing this technology in order to make it easier and cheaper to build insect-sized robots capable of carrying out tasks such as surveying or monitoring crops.