Giving bug-like bots a boost

MIT researchers have pioneered a new fabrication technique that enables them to produce low-voltage, power-dense, high endurance soft actuators for an aerial microrobot. When it comes to robots, bigger isn't always better. Someday, a swarm of insect-sized robots might pollinate a field of crops or search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building. MIT researchers have demonstrated diminutive drones that can zip around with bug-like agility and resilience, which could eventually perform these tasks. The soft actuators that propel these microrobots are very durable, but they require much higher voltages than similarly-sized rigid actuators.