It is worth noting that the development of fireflies preceded the development of soft drivers that could be used as artificial muscles to move the wings. It is made of ultra-thin layers of elastomer and carbon nanotube electrodes spun into a cylinder. Under the influence of voltage, the electrodes compress the elastomer and the mechanical tension causes the blades to move.

How does electroluminescence work?

To make the artificial muscles shine, the engineers added electroluminescent zinc sulfate particles to the elastomer. But first they had to fix a few problems.

FirstlyThey created a light-blocking electrode from transparent nanotubes. However, zinc particles glow only in the presence of a very strong and high frequency electric field. It then excites the zinc electrons, which emit photons. So the researchers used high voltage to create a strong electric field in the soft driver and forced the robot to operate at high frequencies to maintain a bright glow.

Electroluminescent materials are usually very expensive in terms of energy, but we got electroluminescence, so to speak, for free, because we used an electric field with the frequency necessary for flight. No new drivers, no cables, nothing like that. Energy consumption for radiation increased by only 3%,
– said Kevin Chen, one of the developers.

Second, engineers have found that the addition of zinc particles reduces the service life of the drive. To avoid this, they only added the particles to the top layer of the elastomer. The mass of the devices increased by 2.5%, but the glow ceased to affect the flight quality.

In addition, the developers changed the chemical composition of the zinc particles, resulting in different colors: green, orange, blue. Each driver can have its own color.

Fireflies at work: watch the video

In the future, the inventors plan to add a more reliable traffic tracking system so that business can be monitored in real time. Also a system to turn lights on and off during flight.

Engineers have long been involved in the design of beetles the size of insects using various physical properties of materials. Last year, Chinese scientists created a cockroach robot.

It is the size of a brand and can withstand loads millions of times greater than itself. This work is also planned to be used in rescue operations to search for people under the rubble and elsewhere.