RoboBee Can Now Explode Out of the Water

Oct-27-17 The new and improved RoboBee is able to launch itself out of the water with a blast of gas.

MIT’s RoboBee, while a marvel of tiny engineering, is also so small it cannot break the surface while submerged—basically trapping it underwater. To give the tiny bot more power, the team equipped it with a gas collection chamber and four buoyant outriggers. The gas chamber help raise the bot’s wings above the surface of the water, whereupon electrolyte plates in the chamber convert water into a combustible gas that is sparked to ‘blast’ the RoboBee out of the water. Though the bot cannot take flight after leaving the water, it can land on its feet.

The team hopes the new design will inspire the creation of other multi-functional robots.

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
[SEAS.HARVARD.EDU]

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