professor liu with his hummingbird robot
image by yoshikazu tsuno

regular designboom readers will understand our fascination with robots.
in japan, hiroshi liu, professor of biomechanical engineering at chiba university,
who specializes in developing robots based on living creatures, has recently developed
a hummingbird robot which is able to fly around freely in mid-air with rapid wing movements.

resembling the size of a real hummingbird, it is equipped with a micro motor and four wings
which have the ability to flap up to 30 times per second. it is controlled with an infrared sensor,
allowing it to turn up, down, right or left. future goals he has for the robot is to make
the robot to stay at one point in mid-air, and he also plans to equip it with a micro camera
by march 2011.

'development of the robot cost 200 million yen(2.1 million dollars) and could be used to
help rescue people trapped in destroyed buildings, search for criminals or even operate
as a probe vehicle on mars,' liu said.

focusing first on learning about effective mechanisms from natural life forms,
liu eventually wants to develop something which will go beyond nature.


detail


professor liu demonstrating the robot's flying abilities
image via yomiuri online

via afp, crave, physorg