Researchers Create Robot that 'Flies' Like a Jellyfish

Researchers have built a tiny flying machine that moves around like the ocean-dwelling jellyfish.

For years, scientists have been trying to create bots inspired by birds and insects. Recently, Harvard engineers showcased their latest penny-sized flying machine that's capable of fluttering its wings about 120 times per second.

The latest jellyfish-inspired bot is "sort of dumb," said Leif Ristroph, assistant professor of mathematics at NYU who designed the tiny machine, according to NBC news.

A major problem with creating insect-like-flying bots is that bugs are very complex and respond to every change in their environment. A similar machine would require many sensors to keep its flight stable.

So, researchers in the present study tried to take a different road. They eliminated the need of sensors by creating a bot using a simple design. Their prototype machine weighs less than two grams and is about eight centimeters wide. The bot flies by flapping its wings, which resembles the pulsating movements of a jellyfish. However, the machine's ultimate flight may resemble a moth's movement. The machine can hover and fly in a particular direction only, according to a press release.

The bot has four wings and is connected to a power source by a wire. It opens up like an umbrella and squirts air downwards, NBC news reported.

"No one's ever built this, and as far as we know nature never built it either to fly in air," said Ristroph, nbcnews reported. "Maybe that indicates that it's a bad idea? In any case we got it to work, so maybe not that bad."

The new bot design could help create machines that are capable of monitoring atmosphere and traffic. It could also aid search-rescue missions.

The study was presented at the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics.

See a video of the bot, here.