A group of researchers at a U.S university have built the first ever wireless fly sized drone that is capable of flying into areas where regular drones are inaccessible.  It’s call RoboFly, and is a major technological development in the drone industry.   It was created by members of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Autonomous Insect Robotics Lab and Allen School’s Networks and Mobile Systems Lab.

The team from the University of Washington include Professor Shyam Gollakota of the Allen School, Mechanical Engineering Professor Sawyer Fuller, Electrical Engineering Ph.D. student Vikram Iyer, Yogesh Chukewad and Johannes James both Ph.D. students.

The tiny drones can be used for many different purposes such as surveying crop growth in large farmlands, or detecting gas leaks over large areas. It can also gather data on these large areas far more quickly than a human alone, or even larger, slower drones. Since RoboFly is so small, it’s unable to use propellers like most standard drones. Instead, it has wings that it flaps to enable it to fly at higher speeds.

One main benefit about the Robofly is its cost of production. The small, light parts needed for the RoboFly are less expensive than those needed in larger, heavier drones. One of the issues faced by the team was creating the miniature circuitry needed to power the drone’s flapping wings. The flapping wings need a step up voltage converter so the team figured out a way to create an ultra light circuit and successfully built the first microprocessor brain that weighed less than 100mg! With the RoboFly, there is no need for an on board power source as it’s powered by an infrared laser which also greatly reduces the cost of production.

They presented their findings and research at the international conference on robotics and automation in Brisbane, Australia to a very excited crowd. One of the team members, Yogesh Chukewad, stated that the core of his job was centered on designing and creating a robot the size of an insect. He also worked on controlling its flight with sensors. He couldn’t be more excited and proud of what he and the rest of the team accomplished.

RoboFly is just the beginning. They are hoping to integrate more features into the fly sized robot including the ability to navigate different environments around the world. So far, their achievements have been huge and the industry is certainly ready for new innovative drone ideas.