Climate Change May Practically Sterilize Male Insects
Male reproductive damage under heat wave conditions could be contributing to biodiversity declines in the Anthropocene. Continue reading Climate Change May Practically Sterilize Male Insects
Tag Archives: Insect
Watch the Snappy, Insect-like Moves of this DIY Quadruped Robot
Some legged robots end up moving with ponderous deliberation, or wavering in unstable-looking jerks. A few unfortunates manage to do both at once. [MusaW]’s 3D Printed Quadruped Robot, on the other hand, moves in rapid motions that manage to look sharp and insect-like instead of unstable. Based on an earlier design he made for a 3D printable quadruped frame, [MusaW] has now released this step-by-step guide for building your own version. All that’s needed is the STL files and roughly $50 in parts from the usual Chinese resellers to have the makings of a great weekend project.
The robot uses …read more
Continue reading Watch the Snappy, Insect-like Moves of this DIY Quadruped Robot
This Drone Can Fly, Swim, and Explode….. Wait, What?
You’ve probably heard of micro-drones, perhaps even nano-drones, but there research institutions that shrink these machines down to the size of insects. Leading from the [Wiss Institute For Biologically Inspired Engineering] at Harvard University, a team of researchers have developed a miniscule robot that — after a quick dip — literally explodes out of the water.
To assist with the take off, RoboBee has four buoyant outriggers to keep it near the water’s surface as it uses electrolysis to brew oxyhydrogen in its gas chamber. Once enough of the combustible gas has accumulated — pushing the robot’s wings out of …read more
Continue reading This Drone Can Fly, Swim, and Explode….. Wait, What?
JumpRoaCH is Kind Of Cute, Kind Of Creepy
There’s a theory that the fear of scurrying things is genetic. Likewise, a similar theory arose about the tendency for humans to find helpless things cute. After all, our useless babies do best in a pest free environment. This all could explain why we found this robotic roach to be both a little cute and a little creepy.
The university sponsored project, JumpRoaCH, is a collaboration between South Korea’s SNU Biorobotics Lab and Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab. Imitating insects has been a popular avenue for robotic research, and often results in very interesting experiments.
This robot looks like a ladybug …read more
