Miniature robotic camera on beetle's back streams adventures of the insect's life

The team of researchers at the University of Washington drew inspiration from the insects to create a miniature robotic camera and attached the device onto the back of a live beetle, offering a unique view into the world of the tiny creature.

The beetle-cam streams up to five frames per second of low-resolution, black and white video footage to a nearby smartphone. The camera sits on a mechanical arm that can rotate 60 degrees, allowing a viewer to capture a high-resolution, panoramic shot or track a moving object.

The entire camera rig weighs just 250 milligrams, which is about a tenth of the weight of a playing card and expends a minimal amount of energy. To conserve battery life, an accelerometer has been included in the system, so that it takes photos when the insect is moving. In this way, the camera could be operated for six hours on a full charge.

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'First of its kind robot'

The beetles were not harmed and lived up to one year after the experiment was over. The researchers used an independent insect-sized camera robot, claimed as the world's "smallest terrestrial, power-autonomous robot with a wireless vision". Instead of wheels, the robot moves by vibration and can travel up to three centimetres a second.

Shyam Gollakota, the senior author of the research, acknowledged that tiny camera robots could raise surveillance concerns. He said it is important to put such inventions in the public domain so people are aware of the risks and can start coming up with solutions to address them.

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