A battery-powered flapping robot weighing 984 milligrams sustained flight for more than four minutes in a laboratory experiment. Its power supply and drive electronics travelled aboard the vehicle. Separate tests demonstrated climbing and altitude control, while passive stabilization reduced unwanted motion. The peer-reviewed result brings sustained flight to a tiny integrated platform whose steering and sensing remain limited.
More than four minutes of flight came from a robot carrying its own battery, drive electronics and passive stabilizer. The complete vehicle weighs 984 milligrams, just below one gram, with a wingspan of 6.8 centimetres. The peer-reviewed laboratory experiment therefore measures the combined flying system, including its power supply, rather than an isolated wing mechanism supplied through a cable.[1]
Piezoelectric elements move four wings in response to electrical signals. Their crossed arrangement reduces unwanted twisting. Passive restoring forces help the body regain stability. The longest flight used a low-power operating mode. A separate higher-power test took the robot above 10 metres, where the laboratory ceiling and communication range constrained the demonstration. The height and endurance results came from different flights.[1]
In controlled flight, an optical range sensor looked downwards to estimate the gap beneath the vehicle. The vehicle held two low-altitude targets; at the lower one it stayed aloft for over a minute. This required more power than the endurance mode. Tilting could distort the distance estimate, and the vehicle still drifted around its vertical axis. Battery capacity, heat and circuit efficiency also constrain the small platform; route following and outdoor rescue missions remain beyond the demonstrated laboratory tasks.[1]
