Robots

New robot bee may soon be a spy's secret weapon

The team built a bee-inspired micro aerial vehicle (MAV) robot and attached an electrostatic patch consisting of a carbon-fiber base, copper electrodes and a polyamide coating. It sits on a small foam cylinder. 

When charged, the electrostatic plate can attach itself to almost any surface (wood, glass, organic material) that responds to static electricity (yes, the same stuff you build up when you rub a balloon on a wall or your feet on the carpet).

The chosen technology would work equally well on the ground or ceiling, said Robert Wood, a co-author of the new study, in an email to Mashable. 

“But we felt that perching on an overhang is more challenging since you have to have an adhesive force to overcome gravity.”

The foam is there to help cushion the landing. Without it, the tiny robot — it has just a 3-centimeter wingspan — might just bounce off the surface.