A New Robot Fly Design That Is Easier To Fabricate And Capable Of Flight And Ground Locomotion

Efforts to engineer insect-sized (similar to 100 mg) robots are motivated by their potential advantages relative to larger robots, such as greater deployment numbers at the same cost. Previous iterations have demonstrated controlled flight, but were limited in terms of locomotion capabilities outside of flight. They also consisted of many parts, making them difficult to fabricate. Here we present a re-design that lowers the center of mass, allowing the robot to additionally land without the need for long legs. Furthermore, we show that the new design allows for wing-driven ground locomotion. This is achieved by varying the speed of downstroke relative to the upstroke of the flapping wings, which also allows for steering. By landing and subsequently moving along the ground, the robot can negotiate extremely confined spaces and underneath obstacles, as well as navigate to precise locations for sensing operations. The new design also drastically reduces the number of parts, simplifying fabrication. We describe the new design in detail and present results demonstrating these capabilities, as well as feedbackstabilized flights.