Lecture By Professor Robert Wood

I attended a lecture from Robert Wood, the professor of the Harvard school of Engineering and Applied Science. He spoke to us about his work with micro-robots and micro-technology which is an intermediate between nanotechnology and the scale of common technology used in everyday life. He draws inspiration from the natural design of flies and other small insects. The scale of the project brings a whole new set of challenges to his work which include powering the device, programming and assembling it. In order to meet the demands of his work, professor Wood draws on the intelligence of his fellow researchers and students who come from a wide range of fields. 

The images above show how the micro-robots can be constructed from a single piece of material. The material is made from very thin layers that have different cuts that will contribute to the final folding process. The designs are rendered in such a way that if pressure is applied in the proper areas the piece simply pops up into shape. This method replaced his earlier, more time-consuming method which involved individual parts that must be expertly assembled. The new method allows the the robots to be reproduced more quickly and with greater accuracy.

The schematized design above is one of many of the designs used by Wood and his team to identify the mechanics involved in the balance and motion necessary for insects to fly or move in other ways. They utilize the ingenious designs produced by evolution to serve their own needs. As he explained, the wing motion of different flying insects utilize different motion, wing sizes, and wing shapes. The members of his team that possess a background in biology helped to compare and contrast these different methods in order to find the one most compatible for a mechanically designed version.

The micro-robots pictured above are only some of the designs that have been constructed by his lab. Each one is modeled after a natural counterpart which it seeks to mimic in locomotion and general design. 

Professor Wood did not speak much about the possible uses of these little robots, but what he did say was mostly concerned with their ability to work in large numbers to perform a single task. He mentioned that they could be useful in agriculture, but I imagine that their uses in surveillance and other military intelligence tactics is probably of equal if not more interest.