Free-flying robotic bees in swarms

Berlin: Scientists have created a giant bionic fly capable of flying with a swarm.

Created by scientists from Germany’s automation company Festo’s Bionic Learning Network, the bee is 22cm long and 24cm wide with a wingspan, weighs around 34g, and flies freely in a swarm. can fly

The team of scientists has created robots inspired by ants, kangaroos and octopus grippers before this fly, but this bionic fly is their smallest flying object.

Inside the bee mold, scientists have installed a communication kit with a wing flapping system. This communication kit connects the fly to a central computer and wing components, allowing wing movements similar to the orientation of real flies.

Each bee has a GPS system, so it can operate from its location in 3D space and exchange information with other robot bees in the colony, said Dennis McGover from the company.

This communication between bees is critical to mimicking the complex communication patterns observed in real swarms, they said.