The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

The Remote Controlled Hummingbird Robot From Chiba (Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on March 2nd, 2010
hummingbird robot

Professor Liu at Chiba University has created a 2.6g robot that flies like a hummingbird.

Why just build robots in our own image, when there are millions of other animals to translate into machinery? The latest robot out of Chiba University in Japan can bob and weave like a hummingbird, and only weighs 2.6 grams (0.09 oz). Controlled via IR sensor, the robot can fly for about 6 minutes and up to 10 meters above the ground. Chiba’s hummingbird bot is the brainchild of Professor H. Liu who plans on getting it to hover directly in place (just like it’s namesake) very soon. While the robot only contains a micromotor, carbon fiber frame, and plastic wings for now, Liu wants to include a microcamera by 2011. This addition will allows the device to carry out search missions during emergencies. Check out the video from Diagonal Views below to see how Chiba’s hummingbird is a cool example of how engineers are learning from biology to create some amazing new robots.

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DASH Robot Can Fall Off 28m Building, Keep Running (Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on October 16th, 2009
The DASH robot is fast and robust, just like a roach.

Like a cockroach, DASH is fast and robust.

Have you ever tried to catch a running cockroach? They’re fast little suckers, and resilient too, which is why scientists at the University of California Berkeley modeled their latest robot after them. DASH or Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod is a six legged robot made from cardboard and polymer. It’s the size of your open hand, weighs just 16 grams, can run up to 1.5 m/s, and survives falls of 28 meters without damage! This cockroach bot is really something to behold. Check out the IEEE Spectrum video after the break and watch how DASH survives the fall from the top of a building and keeps running.

As robotic systems become increasingly complex, they are able to mimic real world creatures. There are toys like the hexbugs, and more advanced robots like StickyBot that exhibit animal skills and/or behavior. The reverse is also true, we’ve seen robotics used to help explain developments in evolution. This interplay between the sciences is important stuff. When the advances in one field are applied in another the rate of new discoveries increases. Feedback loops between biology and robots may be one of the means by which we develop the next generation of genetically engineered machines and life-like automatons.
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