Robot bees mimic communal feeding

A Northeastern University neurobiologist is to bring his expertise in animal robotics to a five-year, $10m (£6.1m) National Science Foundation (NSF) Expeditions research project to develop robotic bees that mimic the communal feeding behaviour of bee colonies.

Prof Joseph Ayers will collaborate with a team of researchers from Harvard University to develop micro flying robots with the technology to emulate bees’ brains, bodies and collective behaviour.

The project will draw on the knowledge of computer scientists, engineers and biologists to construct an electronic nervous system, a supervisory architecture and a high-energy source to power the innovative robots.

‘This project will integrate the efforts and expertise of a diverse team of investigators to create a system that far transcends the sum of its parts,’ said Ayers, who is a principal researcher at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center.

Inspired by the biology of the bee and its colonial behaviour, the project aims to advance miniature robotics and the design of compact, high-energy power sources, spur innovations in low-power computing and electronic smart sensors that mediate biomimetic control, and refine algorithms that will manage the multiple, independent machines.