An analysis of how rhinoceros beetles deploy and retract their hindwings shows that the process is passive, requiring no muscular activity. The findings, reported in Nature, could help improve the design of flying micromachines.
At the top of many automation wish lists is a particularly time-consuming task: chores.
To be deployed in a broad range of real-world dynamic settings, robots should be able to successfully complete various manual tasks, ranging from household chores to complex manufacturing or agricultural processes. These manual tasks entail grasping, manipulating and placing objects of different types, which can vary in shape, weight, properties and textures.
Dutch scientists have unveiled the country's first laboratory to research how autonomous miniature drones can mimic insects to accomplish tasks ranging from finding gas leaks in factories to search-and-rescue missions.