The smallest flying device ever made by man surpasses nature

It is as big as a grain of sand. The winged microchip, built by researchers and designers at Northwestern University in the US state of Illinois, is a unique device – it is the smallest flying (more precisely, gliding) device.

In its construction, the Americans were inspired by inanimate nature. A microchip they describe on the web Nature, the shape and manner of flight mimics the winged seeds of plants.

Inspired by Mother Nature. | source:
Profimedia

And what good is such a thing? It can monitor air pollution or airborne diseases, including coronaviruses.

Evolution of inspirations

“Evolution has been the driving force behind the ingenious aerodynamic properties of many seeds, which are ‘designed’ to fall slowly and in a controlled manner so that they can be carried away by wind currents,” writes John Rogers, the team leader who invented and built the device.

Like winged maple or other tree seeds, a miniature drone will rely on the wind. And also on its own shape, which allows it to use the wind.

Researchers have studied different types of natural shapes of flying tree and plant seeds. Rotating seeds capable of controlled fall have proven to be the best solution. The seeds of Tristellateia australis, which can be seen not only in Australia but also in the forests of Southeast Asia, proved to be the best.

Its seeds slow down the flight by rotating around its axis, similar to maple seeds. This allows them to use the air currents for longer and fly to a greater distance from the mother plant. Like non-motorized gyros, they will sooner or later fall to the ground, but rising currents can lift them and take the wind into the distance.

John Rogers claims that his team even surpassed nature, finding a shape that allows for better flight than the shape of winged seeds. “I think we defeated nature,” he said. “At least in that we were able to build structures that fall on a more stable trajectory and at a slower speed than comparable seeds.”

The whole swarm will collect data

The question is how much electronics will fit on the device. The smallest half-millimeter drones are limited by payload. So far, a truly “useful” drone with proper equipment has a diameter of five centimeters. It is equipped only with a transmitting antenna and UV sensors. However, designers are working on its miniaturization.

The ‘electronic seed’ equipment mentioned corresponds to its use – environmental monitoring.

Researchers believe that a swarm of winged microchips can provide a lot of data in places of industrial pollution or even in city centers. For example, about pollutants or coronaviruses.

Instead of one or two sensors in conventional drones, a swarm of microdrons can obtain data from hundreds or thousands of points simultaneously.

Researchers have focused on the rotating design, which so far only allows a controlled fall – with its own power supply for propulsion, however, future versions of microdrons could gain height in a controlled manner.

“We were thinking about how to achieve active flight. The microchips would then not fall like seeds, but could fly away like flies. That’s an interesting vision, “Rogers pointed out.

His team emphasizes ecology during construction and counts on biodegradable materials – especially polymers, which degrade due to moisture.

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