Air Engineering

Imagine you were a soldier in a foreign country and you arrive at a strange looking building. You want to know what’s happening inside but it could be dangerous. So, you decide to send in a team of tiny robot explorers who can enter the building without anyone seeing them and report back on what’s going on.

Wouldn’t that be cool?

Well, this is not yet possible, but thanks to the engineers at BAE Systems, it soon will be.

How are these micro robots being developed?

Along with scientists and engineers from all around the world, the experts at BAE Systems are working on a special 10-year project to create a collection of micro robotic systems – or tiny robots.

Learning the secrets of insects

The engineers wanted to make the micro robots work just like insects, but they first had to find out how insects do the amazing things they do. Just some of the things they wanted to know were:

• How does a bee always find its way back to the same flower?
• How does the gecko climb up a wall?
• How do ants and wolves work together to do things they cannot do on their own?

How will these micro robots be used?

They will be able to go places and see things that humans can’t, such as travel over very rough terrain and go into dangerous situations.

They will also be able to do things on their own, without anybody having to operate them, and carry lots of sensors and equipment which can find out useful information.

When will these micro robots be ready for action?

Models have already been made, including a robot fly that weighs less than three £1 coins. It also has wings that are only slightly wider than a 50p coin and that can beat 110 times a second.

Picture the scene: a group of soldiers in a hostile land arrive at a suspicious looking building. They need to know what’s happening inside but it could be dangerous, so they send in their secret weapons; a flying and hopping mechanical spy team, which can enter the building undetected and report back what’s going on.

Although this isn’t yet a reality, the idea of tiny intelligent mobile robots helping the armed forces and other personnel, such as search and rescue, could soon be a reality thanks to BAE Systems.

How are these micro robots being developed?

Experts at BAE Systems, along with scientists and engineers from around the world, are working on what is called the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance Program.

This is a 10-year initiative dedicated to creating the next generation of micro robotic systems.

Learning the secrets of insects

The engineers wanted to make the micro robots work just like insects, but they first had to find out how insects do the amazing things they do. Just some of the things they wanted to know, include:

• How does a bee always find its way back to the same flower?
• How does the gecko climb up a wall?
• How do ants and wolves work together to do things they cannot do on their own?

How will these micro robots be used?

The MAST Collaborative Technology Alliance Program aims to develop technologies that will do some of a soldiers work in all sorts of environments, including rough terrain and dangerous situations.

These personal robots will be fully autonomous (meaning that they can operate themselves) and equipped with a range of sensors and equipment that they’ll use to gather vital information and report it back.

When will these micro robots be ready for action?

Prototypes have already been created, including a fly-like robot that weighs less than one ounce (about the same as three £1 coins), a wing span of 30 milimetres (slightly wider than a 50p coin), lightweight carbon joints that allow the robot to mimic a real fly and wings that beat 110 times a second.

Picture the scene: a group of soldiers in a hostile land arrive at a suspicious looking building. They need to know what’s happening inside but it could be dangerous, so they send in their secret weapons; a flying and hopping mechanical reconnaissance team which can enter the building undetected and report back what’s going on.

Although this isn’t yet a reality, the idea of tiny intelligent mobile robots helping the armed forces and other personnel, such as search and rescue, could soon be a reality thanks to BAE Systems.

How are these micro robots being developed?

Experts at BAE Systems, along with scientists and engineers from the US Army Research Laboratory, industry partners, and research teams from universities across the world, are working on what is called the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance Program.

This is a 10-year initiative dedicated to creating the next generation of micro robotic systems.

Learning the secrets of insects

Before scientists and engineers could hope to develop micro robots based on insects, they first had to understand how insects do the amazing things they do. Just some of the questions that they wanted to answer, include:

• How does a bee find its way back to the same flower?
• How does the gecko climb a vertical wall?
• How do ant colonies and packs of wolves work together to carry out tasks that they cannot do alone?

By understanding how insects sense their surroundings, manoeuvre around and perform often complex actions, our engineers could then mimic this in the new generation of micro robots.

How will these micro robots be used?

The MAST Collaborative Technology Alliance Program aims to develop technologies that will give soldiers another set of eyes and ears for use in all sorts of environments, including rough terrain and dangerous situations.

These personal robots will be fully autonomous and equipped with a range of visual, audio, thermal, magnetic, chemical, location and orientation sensors – all of which will greatly benefit frontline troops by sending back vital, lifesaving information.

When will these micro robots be ready for action?

Prototypes have already been created, including a fly-like robot that weighs less than one ounce (about the same as three £1 coins), a wing span of 30 milimetres (slightly wider than a 50p coin), lightweight carbon joints that allow the robot to mimic a real fly and wings that beat 110 times a second.