The bee is known to be one of the most painful creatures on earth when it stings. The pain is so severe that the victim is given scientific advice to "fall down and scream while the pain subsides."
However, what many people don't know is that bees are endowed with the ability to carry loads that are unimaginably heavy for their small bodies.
A typical small drone, also called a very small unmanned aerial vehicle (MAV), can lift no more than its own weight. On the other hand, it would be a problem if the drone was as large as a giant pterosaur. Then you'll have to think of a new way to lift your load.
So the drone designers turned to bees for help.
Sticking to a table and hoisting heavy objects
Engineers want drones to do the same as bees.
FlyCroTugs is a new type of robot inspired by flying brawlers. At first glance, it looks like a palm-sized quadcopter. However, a certain secret is hidden in the part of the belly.
Flycrotags come in two versions. One is a type with a hook, which is hooked on the protrusions or depressions on the landing surface to firmly fix the body. Just like a bee sticking its claws. The other is a padded type that sticks to a smooth surface to hold the torso in place.
Furthermore, both machines have a tiny winch. It can be used to lift, drag, and move objects that are 40 times their own weight. The mechanism of the hook is really simple, and it is a direct attack method that uses the principle of leverage to fix the aircraft on the ground surface.
"I'm experimenting with placing multiple hooks next to each other. Each hook grabs a bump on the landing surface and pulls them up in unison, creating much more force than a single hook." says Matthew Estrada, a robotics researcher at Stanford University. He describes the machine in detail in his October 24, 2018, issue of Science Robotics.
The pad mechanism is inspired by the legs of a gecko rather than a bee. But this is not particularly new technology. Researchers at Stanford University are already using the technology to design devices to catch and retrieve space junk. Nonetheless, the technology did give Flycrotags the grip of a gecko and the ability to lift like an insect.
What makes this feat possible is the so-called "van der Waals force". The bottom of the drone is covered with tiny silicon bumps. If you land firmly on a smooth surface, all the lugs will fall in the same direction along the ground surface (see GIF animation below).