We've got robots dancing Gangnam Style and we've got robot jellyfish swimming and ready to take over the seas, but mankind's latest invention has something else entirely going for it: You might not even notice that little Robo Fly buzzing around.
It took them 10 years to do it, but scientists at Harvard University have created the world's smallest flying robot, and they foresee it eventually helping to save human lives.
The robo fly even claims to have the same kind of agility as a fly does, meaning the robot's independently controlled wings can be used to swiftly move through hazardous obstacles, or even avoid being smacked out of the air.
"We could envision these robots being used for search-and-rescue operations to search for human survivors under collapsed buildings or [in] other hazardous environments," Dr. Kevin Ma said to BBC News. "They [could] be used for environmental monitoring, to be dispersed into a habitat to sense trace chemicals or other factors."
Aside from assisting search-and-rescue missions, these robo flies could even be used to help pollinate crops. If honeybee populations continue to dwindle and struggle, then these robotic insects could very well take their place. As creepy as imagining hundreds or thousands of these things flying through fields and pollinating plants might be, though, you probably don't have to worry about that possibility just yet.
"It will be a few more years before full integration is possible," Ma said. "Until then, this research project continues to be very captivating work because of its similarity to natural insects. It is a demonstration of how far human engineering ingenuity has reached, to be mimicking natural systems."
The robotic flies are barely the height of a U.S. quarter, but at this point they still need to be tethered to their controllers in order to be operated. The next step is to get them running wirelessly. Check them out in the video below.
