Waiter, There’s a Spy in my Soup

Harvard professor Robert Wood unveiled his newest creation recently, a robotic fly that can be used as a spy, according to this posting on engadget.com. The fly weighs only .002 ounces and has a wingspan of 1.18 inches. Due to light weight carbon joints, the fly's wings beat 110 times per minute and the creature mimics the exact movements of a real fly. Funded, obvi, by the generous folks at the U.S. Defense Department, the little robo-pest has myriad possible uses like surveillance and monitoring the air for chemical agents. Wood plans to install a battery and a remote controlling device to the next version.

Wood's announcement may have come as a blow to the researchers at the University of California at Berkeley who had been trying to do the exact same thing for years. Perhaps a robotic bed bug might have some strategic and/or perverted real-world uses as well?

A Berkeley researcher demonstrates what a robotic fly with a giant mustache might look like...