professor liu with his hummingbird robot image by yoshikazu tsuno

regular designboom readers will understand our fascination with robots. in japan, hiroshi liu, professor of biomechanical engineering at chiba university, who specializes in developing robots based on living creatures, has recently developed a hummingbird robot which is able to fly around freely in mid-air with rapid wing movements.

resembling the size of a real hummingbird, it is equipped with a micro motor and four wings which have the ability to flap up to 30 times per second. it is controlled with an infrared sensor, allowing it to turn up, down, right or left. future goals he has for the robot is to make the robot to stay at one point in mid-air, and he also plans to equip it with a micro camera by march 2011.

‘development of the robot cost 200 million yen(2.1 million dollars) and could be used to help rescue people trapped in destroyed buildings, search for criminals or even operate as a probe vehicle on mars,’ liu said.

focusing first on learning about effective mechanisms from natural life forms, liu eventually wants to develop something which will go beyond nature.

hummingbird robotdetailhummingbird robotprofessor liu demonstrating the robot’s flying abilities image via yomiuri online via afp, crave, physorg