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1w ago

World's smallest battery-free flying robot uses magnets for power.

interestingengineering.com

World's smallest battery-free flying robot uses magnets for power

11 comments

I also like the plant seeding robot in the video. Even though I would like to see the flying robots into action in a video.

The title is misleading. Calling it a robot is being very generous. It's basically a propeller with magnets attached such that, if you stick it inside an externally generated magnetic field, it can fly. It's completely passive and does not have any onboard sensors.
- Sounds like a paper airplane would make a better "battery-free, flying robot" than this thing, all you need is an arm to throw it
- Robot comes from the word roboto, that is work, no? If it can do autonomous work, it is a robot.
  
  Yeah, so calling this a robot would be incorrect.

It almost looks like one of those toy helicopters that you launch by just lifting it up a coiled rod so it spins really fast.
- Yeah, I wonder how far they can extend the magnetic fields that power them? Even if it is relatively short range, they look really cheap to make, so you could have thousands of them with sensors to scan localized areas.
  
  If they make one that moves with radio waves, it would be really great.
  
  Don't give them ideas...

11 comments