What can tiny robot bees do for us?

Robots today can do almost anything, it seems, but the latest development in microbot technology may be surprising: the ability to take a break. Scientists at Harvard and MIT have developed robot technology that uses static electricity to allow tiny bee-like drones, or micro aerial vehicles, to perch on objects, according to a new article published in Science. The tiny RoboBee, pioneered at the Harvard Microrobotics Lab, can perch on a variety of surfaces using electrostatic adhesion. Just as newly tumble-dried clothes cling to each other, the RoboBee uses the science of positive and negative electric charges to cling to surfaces such as ledges and trees. Once it is perched, the RoboBee clicks off its propeller wings, saving its energy and increasing the length of its mission.