Honey bee flight mechanism isolated.

[Doodler]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10791395/

Good article, especially the potshots at ID. :)

[Nicolas]

At our faculty, they're using fruit flies. Now bees. What's next, hornets? :D

Did they make a robot that could fly like a bee? I would like to see that one!

[Doodler]

At our faculty, they're using fruit flies. Now bees. What's next, hornets? :D

Did they make a robot that could fly like a bee? I would like to see that one!

They have made a plane fly much like one. The F-117 uses a principle of lift based on generating low pressure vortices over the lifting surfaces much like an insect does with its wings, rather than the traditional lift associated with Bernoulli style airflow shaping.

Buzzing bots sound slick, but given the inefficiency of power consumption (remember that bees are born to burnout), it would require an impressive power source to sustain operations.

[ryanmercer]

At our faculty, they're using fruit flies. Now bees. What's next, hornets? :D

Did they make a robot that could fly like a bee? I would like to see that one!


The NRO designed a very small surveillance device capable of flight. Obviously I have no idea how it operates as it is classified... but I'd say its safe to speculate they based it around bumble-bee technology... large bodies and tiny wings.

[Nicolas]

I'd say that's not safe to assume. Microplanes here are more focused on large wings and a small body. Really small lightweight aircraft. Maybe it's just another approach.

[HenrikOlsen]

Dragonfly more than Bee seems to be the trend in everything I've seen in microplanes.

[Nicolas]

Agreed. Of course, it's a new branch of technology and all paths are being explored. The tail of the dragonfly is handy for housing things and as stabilizer.