Body: Material for the body of our robot is made of very thin sheets of titanium and the frame of stainless steel struts. This will allow the robot’s shape to be cut out of the material and then designed by folding the titanium like you fold paper into origami shapes. A laser will cut the material to the precise shape and size.
Wings: The wings will have a rigid support system and be covered with thin pieces of spun polyester. The wings need to not only flap up and down, but also need to tilt during the motion. This is what makes flies and bees be able to sustain flight. The tilting and flapping motion creates air vortices and backspin that gives the insect the lift needed to fly. The robot’s wings will be designed to create up and down and tilting motions by the movement of the body structure. The wings will stop at the high and low points and rotate in place,
Flies use their hind wing as a gyroscope to monitor the rotation of their body during flight. Our robot will have a built in gyroscope to keep it stable during flight.
Weight: The robot will weigh about the same as a natural bee, about 100 milligrams or a tenth of a gram. That is about the weight of a paperclip.
Navigation: The robots will use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positional System (GPS) for navigation. The GIS will provide a map of the terrain and trees. The GPS uses a satellite map to pinpoint where the robot is. These systems will help the robot be more autonomous.
Communication: The robot will have an antenna to communicate with other robots with radio frequency and also with a central computer located at the station.
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Our Basic Design
Power: The wings of our robots will be powered by a tiny crystal piezoelectric actuator. (see below for more information) The wings will flap by moving the folded body structure. The actuator will be charged at a station, then if it is running low on energy during it’s job, it will use solar panels so it won’t have to go back and charge itself. The actuator is made out of a material that reacts to voltage by bending. It’s like a muscle contracting. This will make the wings flap 180 times per second.
The robot will also have a rechargeable battery and solar panels. The battery will allow flight during night or on cloudy days. The robot will be able to go back to the charging station and hook up to recharge. When it is on a job and runs low on power, the solar cells will be used so the robot doesn’t have to return to the charging station right then.
Electrostatic Charge: Real bees have a slight electrostatic charge around their legs where the pollen is collected. This helps the pollen to be attracted to the bee’s hairs on its legs. Our robot will also have a slight electrostatic charge around the pollen collectors.
Sensors: The robot will carry several sensors. Along with distance sensors, it will have a CMOS camera or optic flow sensor to be like the compound eyes of a real bee. These will be used to find the flowers.
Microprocessor and Software: The robot will have a mini microprocessor will run a small operating system. TinyOS is a software language being developed at UC Berkeley. It has a very small file size. We will have a similar software language. The robot will run autonomously under the software. The robot will have only a few commands to follow that will allow it complete its task. This is like ants and bees that follow only a few simple rules to complete complicated jobs. They work together to get a job done.
Delivery: The robots will delivered into the air through a blower system from central stations. These stations will be place through out the orchards. There will be a charging system on the station. A central computer will control the stations.
