The next generation of military robots is set to be based on designs inspired by the insect world. The dragonfly drones and cyborg moths, with in-built micro-cameras, could revolutionise spying missions and rescue operations.
The advantage of using drones is that they can be used in emergency situations too dangerous for people and in secret military surveillance raids.
Zoologist Richard Bomphrey, of Oxford University, is leading a study to generate new insight into how insect wings have evolved. He said: 'Nature has solved the problem of how to design miniature flying machines. 'By learning those lessons, our findings will make it possible to aerodynamically engineer a new breed of surveillance vehicles that, because they are as small as insects and also fly like them, completely blend into their surroundings.'
The military would like to develop tiny robots that can fly inside caves and barricaded rooms to send back real-time intelligence about the people and weapons inside.
Currently, the smallest of state-of-the-art fixed-wing unmanned surveillance vehicles are around a foot wide. The incorporation of flapping wings is the secret to making the new designs so small.
The team's groundbreaking work has attracted the attention of NATO, the US Air Force and the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development.
The research is expected to produce findings that can be used by the defense industry within three to five years, leading to the development and widespread deployment of insect-sized flying machines in the next two decades.
Dr Bomphrey said: 'This is just one more example of how we can learn important lessons from nature. Tiny flying machines could provide the perfect way of exploring all kinds of dark, dangerous and dirty places.'
