Robot dragonfly mimics four-winged flight manoeuvres

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

Robotic dragonflies could be the next explorers on Mars, and a new design is already buzzing around on Earth. Developed by Festo, the mechanical insect exploits the unique mechanics of four-winged flight, allowing it to fly in all directions, hover in mid-air and glide without beating its wings (see video above).

Each wing's motion can be fine-tuned by controlling its amplitude, flapping frequency and thrust - which is achieved by adjusting its tilt and twist. The team says a smartphone can act as a remote control to put the dragonfly almost anywhere in a given space.

Although it appears to be considerably larger than a real dragonfly, the robot is light thanks to a carbon-fibre frame and flexible polymer shell. That structure holds a microcontroller, mechanical components, sensors and wireless modules, showing how different functions can be integrated and miniaturised

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If you enjoyed this video, watch robot penguins take to the water and the skies or check out a shape-shifting robotic bird.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/2a40e48d/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A130C0A40Crobot0Edragonfly0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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