UC Berkeley Unveils World’s Smallest Wireless Flying Robot Inspired by Bumblebees

The 21-milligram robot uses external magnetic fields for flight and could revolutionize artificial pollination, environmental monitoring, and confined-space inspections.

• UC Berkeley researchers have developed a 21-milligram wireless flying robot, making it the smallest robot with controlled flight capabilities.
• The robot mimics bumblebee flight behaviors, such as hovering, navigation, and hitting precise targets, using external magnetic fields for power and control.
• Current limitations include the absence of onboard sensors and active control, making the robot vulnerable to environmental disruptions like strong winds.
• Future plans include adding real-time active control and further miniaturizing the robot to under 1 millimeter, potentially enabling control via weaker magnetic fields like radio waves.
• This breakthrough is part of UC Berkeley’s broader bio-inspired robotics research, which includes cockroach-inspired robots and swarming robots for collaborative tasks.

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