A Biomimetic Flying Silicon Microchip: Feasibility Study

This paper presents a feasibility analysis of developing an ultra-small biomimetic flying machine using the most advanced engineering technologies that exist today. Without regard for the cost and potential applications of such a machine, our motivation is driven entirely by a curiosity to know if it is possible to built a controllable flying machine using very leading-edge but available technologies such as MEMS, IC, and wireless technologies. Such machine would require biomimetic wings, since insects and bugs are the only ultra-small flying "machines" which offer clues as to how things should fly when governed by physical laws, i.e., aerodynamic forces that dictate how things should fly according to their characteristic length scale. We have also demonstrated in our laboratory that MEMS actuators can be made in the same scale of insect wings and "flap" at >100Hz at very low power input. This flapping frequency is well within the range of wing flapping frequency of many common insects in the millimeter dimensions. Hence, we argue in this paper that if a micro battery, simple CPU, wireless receiver, and MEMS actuators can all be fitted onto a Si chip of ~1mm² area, which weight around ~1mg, which is the typical weight of millimeter scale insects, a biomimetic flying machine can be realized. In fact, all these requirements are realizable by many advanced engineering facilities now. A flying insect robot can certainly be realized if sufficient funding is available