Researchers create a robotic camera backpack for insects | A GoPro for beetles

In the movie “Ant-Man,” the title character can shrink in size and travel by soaring on the back of an insect. Now researchers at the University of Washington have developed a tiny wireless steerable camera that can also ride aboard an insect, giving everyone a chance to see an Ant-Man view of the world.

The camera, which streams video to a smartphone at 1 to 5 frames per second, sits on a mechanical arm that can pivot 60 degrees. This allows a viewer to capture a high-resolution, panoramic shot or track a moving object while expending a minimal amount of energy. To demonstrate the versatility of this system, which weighs about 250 milligrams — about one-tenth the weight of a playing card — the team mounted it on top of live beetles and insect-sized robots.

The results were published in the journal Science Robotics.

Research Paper: Wireless steerable vision for live insects and insect-scale robots https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/5/44/eabb0839/

Credit: Paul G. Allen School / University of Washington Credit: Mark Stone / University of Washington

News Source: https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/07/15/robotic-camera-backpack-for-insects/

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