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. They 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 including surveillance and even 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. Oh well, they can always rely on their fall back, robotic