Robot helps you become a fly on the wall

You probably would not notice a fly in the room, but you certainly would notice a hawk,' said the Harvard University project leader, Robert Wood.

His team used lasers to cut the ultrathin carbon fibre needed to create a flexible and functional fly, which flaps its wings at 110 beats per second.

'Simply scaling down existing macro-scale techniques would not have come close to the performance we needed,' said Mr Wood.

However the fly will not be fooling any secret agents at this stage in its development – so far it can move only straight up.

The project is said to be funded by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The robotic flies may also be used on the battlefield or in 'urban environments'.


Botley: What are you doing with that flyswatter?
Harry: Hunting flies.
Botley: Did you get any:
Harry: Yep, three males, two females.
Botley: How can you tell?
Harry: Three were on a beer can, two were on the phone.