BionicBee

Year

2024

The idea

Following successful flying objects inspired by birds, dragonflies, butterflies and flying foxes, an ultra-light model based on bees was now developed.

The objective

BionicBee is a flying object that can fly autonomously in large swarms, modelled on a swarm of bees.

Technical data

• Degrees of freedom: 4
• Wingspan: 240 mm
• Total length: 220 mm
• Weight: 34 g
• Drives: 1 brushless motor, 3 servo motors
• Battery: rechargeable, 300 mAh, 4.3 V
• Flight time: approx. 4 min
• Wing beat frequency: 15-30 Hz
• Radio boards: 2.4 GHz

Flight manoeuvres

The wings of BionicBee flap 15 to 30 times per second through an angle of 180 degrees. They are powered by a brushless motor. In addition to the battery, gear mechanism and various circuit boards, three servo motors are installed at the wing roots to effect selective changes to the wing geometry. This enables desired variations in lift to be carried out with maximum energy efficiency.

Swarm behaviour

The robot bees’ autonomy is achieved by means of an indoor localisation system with ultra-wideband technology. Several infrared cameras distributed throughout the space detect the individual bees by means of markers attached to their circuit boards. Thanks to intelligent control technology, the swarm can thus fly quickly and safely without colliding, even in close formation.

Design

Weighing 34 grams, 22 centimetres long and with a wingspan of 24 centimetres, BionicBee is the smallest flying object to date. Its filigree body is produced using generative design: after only a few parameters are entered, software based on predefined principles finds the optimal structure to ensure maximum stability, with only a minimum of material used.

Material

BionicBee