Robot Flies

Flies are annoying. Thus the phrase "shoo fly, don't bother me." Perhaps you've heard of it. However, its fly movement that interests the researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Right now, they're studying the way a fly walks because it could lead to advancements in robot transportation. It could also lead to more realistic robot flies. Flies are capable of climbing nearly any terrain. They have adhesive pads and claws that help them stick to walls and ceilings. If robots could not only improve mobility but also rest on any surface, they could become more energy efficient. First, they needed to learn more about how flies behave, so the developed DeepFly3D, a motion-capture system for the common fruit fly. The system recorded a fly walking on top of a tiny floating ball with seven cameras. To keep it in place, they glued the fly's back to a stage.DeepFly3D learns how the fly maneuver so it can teach robots how to move. And it doesn't just watch. The system predicts what the fly is going to do. If it's right, it confirms its hypothesis or learns from its mistake and evolves.The study is in eLife Sciences, and the researchers made all of their data available on GitHub. In the last couple of weeks, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has published work on artificial skin, amputees merging with prosthetic limbs, and robotic flies.Oh, and we're not just talking flies either. DeepFly3D works on other animals as well, even humans.