Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington
Researchers at the University of Washington developed small robotic devices that can change how they move through the air by "snapping" into a folded position during their descent. Each device has an onboard battery-free actuator, a solar power-harvesting circuit and controller to trigger these shape changes in mid-air. These circuits are assembled and patterned directly onto the flexible material that makes up the microfliers, as shown here.