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Robot Bees Could Assist With Tricky Rescue Operations

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

When you think about robots, if you do, you might think of famous images from science fiction, some kind of tin can built to vaguely resemble a human being.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE")

ANTHONY DANIELS: (As C-3PO) I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations.

SIMON: But why give robots our human limitations? Rob Wood, an engineer at Harvard, and colleagues are working to develop what they call a colony of flying robotic insects - what he calls RoboBees.

ROBERT WOOD: They look similar to let's say a large housefly, where there are, you know, two wings, each of the wings can flap more or less like a fly or a bee.

SIMON: Now, why develop a robotic fly or bee when you have flies and bees?

WOOD: There are several applications you could imagine. If I have, you know, these small robots that are agile and autonomous.

SIMON: For instance, search and rescue.

WOOD: You know, you can envision a firefighter having a box of a thousand of these things. And so, you know, I release them from a disaster site and they look for survivors.

SIMON: And although RoboBees are tiny, and that's the point of them, Rob Wood says they can draw strength from operating in a swarm.

WOOD: If several of the robots were to be injured or no longer functional, then others will just take the place. That's not true if you have, you know, one all-purpose big, sophisticated robot. If that gets broken, then, you know, mission over.

SIMON: Rob Wood of Harvard says the development of robots as small as flies or bees may also lead to other tiny robotic devices that could be used in medicine. In the meantime, if you feel a small bite at the back of your neck, be careful before you swat. Is that an insect or sophisticated technology? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.