Object Timeline

1970

2012

  • Work on this object began.

2014

2015

2017

2018

2024

  • You found it!

RoboBee Robot Robot

This is a robot. It was designed by Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Kevin Y. Ma and Robert J. Wood and team member: Pakpong Chirarattananon and Sawyer B. Fuller.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering as part of the Rebeca Méndez Selects and Tools: Extending Our Reach exhibitions.

It is dated August 2012 and we acquired it in 2015. Its medium is piezoelectric ceramic, carbon fiber, alumina ceramic; polyester film, carbon-fiber composite; polyimide-film, garolite glass-fiber composites. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The RoboBee is the world’s first insect-scale flying robot. Weighing 80 milligrams (approximately the weight of a honeybee) with a wingspan of little more than 1 inch (3 cm), the RoboBee was designed by researchers at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The team wanted to create a robotic bee colony that replicated the unique interactions of thousands of bees, a response to the alarming collapse of bee colonies worldwide in recent years. Facing the challenge of producing minuscule mechanical devices, researchers looked to the process of manufacturing pop-up books. To build individual bees, sheets of laser-cut materials are sandwiched together into a thin, flat plate that folds up like a pop-up book into the complete electromechanical structure. Swarms of RoboBees could not only have the capacity to artificially pollinate crops, but also participate in search-and-rescue missions, act as environmental sensors, or conduct covert surveillance.

This object was donated by Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. It is credited Gift of Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x W (flattened): 2 x 3 cm (13/16 x 1 3/16 in.)

Cite this object as

RoboBee Robot Robot; Designed by Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Kevin Y. Ma (American, b.1988), Robert J. Wood (American, b. 1977); Team Member: Pakpong Chirarattananon, Sawyer B. Fuller; USA; piezoelectric ceramic, carbon fiber, alumina ceramic; polyester film, carbon-fiber composite; polyimide-film, garolite glass-fiber composites; H x W (flattened): 2 x 3 cm (13/16 x 1 3/16 in.); Gift of Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; 2015-23-1

We have 1 video that features RoboBee Robot Robot.

RoboBee Demo Video

Demonstration of an insect-sized robot in flight.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Rebeca Méndez Selects and Tools: Extending Our Reach.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/51497591/ |title=RoboBee Robot Robot |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=16 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>