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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Early Metamorphic Insertion Technology for Insect Flight Behavior Monitoring

Early Metamorphic Insertion Technology for Insect Flight Behavior Monitoring

Published on: July 12, 2014

Arc-heating actuated active-morphing insect robots.

Jingyu Che¹, Xiangyu Yang¹, Jinzhe Peng¹

¹School of Energy and Power Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.

Nature Communications

|March 28, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a novel insect-scale robot capable of rapid movement and active morphing. The robot demonstrates impressive self-recovery and adaptability to challenging environments.

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Last Updated: Jun 18, 2026

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Insect-controlled Robot: A Mobile Robot Platform to Evaluate the Odor-tracking Capability of an Insect

Insect-controlled Robot: A Mobile Robot Platform to Evaluate the Odor-tracking Capability of an Insect

Published on: December 19, 2016

Area of Science:

Robotics
Materials Science
Biomimetics

Background:

Replicating insect-like agility and adaptability in small robots is challenging due to hardware limitations.
Existing insect-scale robots lack sophisticated morphing capabilities for complex environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a fast insect-scale robot with active morphing and self-recovery capabilities.
To propose a novel actuation and morphing coupling mechanism for micro-robots.

Main Methods:

Combined an arc-heating actuator with shape memory alloy wires for actuation and morphing.
Designed the arc-heating actuator to supply kinetic and thermal energy for wire deformation.
Tested the robot's morphing, speed, amphibious nature, and pressure resilience.

Main Results:

Achieved a robot speed of 83.4 body lengths per second.
Demonstrated successful body compression to navigate a 70% height gap in 2.2 seconds.
Showcased full self-recovery after extreme pressure (5 million times its weight).

Conclusions:

The proposed mechanism enables fast, morphing, and resilient insect-scale robots.
This innovation overcomes hardware limitations in micro-robot design.
The robot's capabilities open new avenues for exploration in confined and harsh environments.