Green June Beetles (before cyber-enhancement)Courtesy Wikimedia CommonsUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are commonly used in military operations. Micro air vehicles (MAVs) are a subcategory of UAVs that are currently in development and can be as small as 15 centimeters (~ 5.9 inches); their anticipated uses include search-and-rescue, surveillance, detection of explosives, and monitoring of hazardous environments.

Two researchers from the University of Michigan researchers had an idea: instead of building UAVs the size of an insect, why not use the insects themselves? Professor Khalil Najafi and doctoral student Erkan Aktakka engineered a piezoelectric generator that converted the kinetic energy from the wing movements of a Green June Beetle into electricity (45 µW per insect). Their research was recently published in the paper, "Energy scavenging from insect flight," which appeared in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.
Cyborg Beetle: Through a device invented at the University of Michigan, an insect's wing movements can potentially generate enough electricity to power small devices such as a camera, microphone, or gas sensor.Courtesy Erkan Aktakka

This research was funded by the Hybrid Insect Micro Electromechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

University News Release: Insect cyborgs may become first responders, search and monitor hazardous environs