INSPIRED by the biology of a bee and the insect’s hive behavior …
we aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of
compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power
computing and electronic “smart” sensors; and refine coordination
algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines. BTW, our robo-bees
don’t sting…
Vision and Aims
The collaborators envision that the Nature-inspired research could
lead to a greater understanding of how to artificially mimic the
collective behavior and “intelligence” of a bee colony; foster novel
methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous
system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and
advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical
devices.
More broadly, the scientists anticipate the devices will open up a
wide range of discoveries and practical innovations, advancing fields
ranging from entomology and developmental biology to amorphous
computing and electrical engineering.
Through a relationship with the Museum of Science, Boston, the team
will also create an interactive exhibit to teach and inspire future
scientists and engineers.
Body, Brain, and Colony
From flies to fish to lobsters, small insects and animals have long
been ideal models for roboticists and computer scientists. Bees, for
example, possess unmatched elegance in flight, zipping from flower to
flower with ease and hovering stably with heavy payloads.
Body
By leveraging existing breakthroughs from Professor Wood’s
Microrobotics Lab, which conducted the first successful flight of a
life-sized robotic fly in 2007, the team will explore ways to emulate
such aerobatic feats in their proposed devices. In addition, achieving
autonomous flight will require compact high-energy power sources and
associated electronics, integrated seamlessly into the ‘body’ of the
machine.
Brain
One of the most complicated areas of exploration the scientists will
undertake will be the creation of a suite of artificial “smart”
sensors, akin to a bee’s eyes and antennae. Professor Wei explains that
the ultimate aim is to design dynamic hardware and software that serves
as the device’s ‘brain,’ controlling and monitoring flight, sensing
objects such as fellow devices and other objects, and coordinating
simple decision-making.
Colony
Finally, to mimic the sophisticated behavior of a real colony of
insects will involve the development of sophisticated coordination
algorithms, communications methods (i.e., the ability for individual
machines to ‘talk’ to one another and the hive), and global-to-local
programming tools to simulate the ways groups of real bees rely upon
one another to scout, forage, and plan.
The Team
The investigators, primarily based at Harvard’s
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will coordinate efforts
with faculty from the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and Northeastern
University’s Department of Biology.
In addition, Centeye, a microelectronics firm in Washington, D.C.,
specializing in vision chip and visual sensor technology, will
contribute technical knowledge.
A number of the collaborators are core faculty members of the newly
created Wyss
Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. As the work fits
particularly well with Wyss’s mission of “creating new materials and
devices using Nature’s design principles,” the Institute, along with
SEAS, will play a critical role in supporting the research, providing
laboratory space and in-kind financial support.
Funding
Harvard is one of three lead institutions receiving the latest round
of awards under the NSF’s Expeditions in Computing program.
The program, established last year by the Directorate for Computer
and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), provides the CISE
research and education community with the opportunity to pursue
ambitious, fundamental research agendas that promise to define the
future of computing and information and render great benefit to
society. Funded at levels up to $2,000,000 per year for five years,
Expeditions represent some of the largest single investments currently
made by the directorate.
