some type of adult girl

jtotheizzoe:

A “RoboBee” and a synthetic insect eye reported in the same week? Sounds like a full-fledged man-made insect is just around the corner!

University of Illinois-UC researchers built a synthetic compound eye that, instead of focusing on the central field of view like our eyes, can discern depth and shape along its full scope. The resolution is only about that of a rather small ant, but there’s hope it could one day include as many facets as a bee or dragonfly eye. That research is reported in Nature. 

And in this week’s Science, Harvard roboticists report the first controlled flight of a coin-size miniature aerial vehicle (MAV) based on the flight physics of insect wings. The construction is based on that used to make pop-up books, an odd advance in micro-building techniques that gave them the precision needed to get it off the ground. The wings aren’t as flexible or functional as real insect wings, but it’s the smallest piloted vehicle ever made. That research is reported in this week’s Science. 

Now we just need to extend that compound eye camera’s sensitivity into the UV range, attach it to the RoboBee, and we’ll finally be able to see flowers like we imagined in this YouTube episode of It’s Okay To Be Smart  (and maybe synthetically pollinate them!!)

I, for one, welcome our tiny, buzzing underlings.