Robotic lightning bugs take flight

Inspired by fireflies, MIT researchers have created soft actuators that can emit light in different colors or patterns. Fireflies that light up dusky backyards on warm summer evenings use their luminescence for communication -- to attract a mate, ward off predators, or lure prey. These glimmering bugs also sparked the inspiration of scientists at MIT. Taking a cue from nature, they built electroluminescent soft artificial muscles for flying, insect-scale robots. The tiny artificial muscles that control the robots' wings emit colored light during flight. This electroluminescence could enable the robots to communicate with each other.