This new advance, published in the journal Science Robotics, could pave the way for smaller, lighter and more effective micro flying robots for environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and deployment in hazardous environments. Until now, typical micro flying robots have used motors, gears and other complex transmission systems to achieve the up-and-down motion of the wings. This has added complexity, weight and undesired dynamic effects. Taking inspiration from bees and other flying insects, researchers from Bristol's Faculty of Engineering, led by Professor of Robotics Jonathan Rossiter, have successfully demonstrated a direct-drive artificial muscle system, called the Liquid-amplified Zipping Actuator (LAZA), that achieves wing motion using no rotating parts or gears. In the paper, the team show how a pair of LAZA-powered flapping wings can provide more power compared with insect muscle of the same weight, enough to fly a robot across a room at 18 body lengths per second.

An insect-inspired flying robot with wings that buzz thanks to a new type of electric'muscle' has been developed by British scientists. The prototype weighs about 0.01lbs (5g), has a wing span of 5.9 inches (15cm) and can fly at 1.6mph. It is hoped that one day the robot will be able to look for survivors in disaster zones such as collapsed buildings, monitor hard-to-reach infrastructure and pollinate crops. Researchers at Bristol University said its wings are so efficient that they actually provide more power than an insect muscle of the same weight. 'It's very challenging to beat nature,' Dr Tim Helps, lead author of the study, told MailOnline.