Imagine a world where tiny robotic insects could help farmers grow fruits and vegetables more efficiently.

Researchers at MIT are making this vision a reality by developing robotic insects that can perform pollination, much like bees.

These robots could one day allow farmers to grow crops in multilevel indoor farms, increasing yields and reducing agriculture’s environmental impact.

While the idea of robotic pollinators isn’t new, the challenge has always been making these tiny flying machines as fast, durable, and efficient as real insects.

Inspired by bees, the MIT team has redesigned their robotic insects to make them more agile and capable.

The results, published in Science Robotics, are promising: the new bots can hover for 1,000 seconds (nearly 17 minutes)—more than 100 times longer than earlier versions.

They can also perform advanced maneuvers, like flips and precise trajectory tracking, with speeds of up to 35 centimeters per second.

The new design is a big improvement over earlier versions. Previously, the robotic insects had eight wings, arranged in four pairs.

However, this design caused problems because the wings interfered with each other, reducing lift.

The researchers simplified the design by giving each robot four wings—one per unit—arranged to avoid airflow interference. This change also freed up space for batteries and sensors, which could help the robots operate independently outside the lab in the future.

To improve flight control, the team redesigned the mechanisms that connect the wings to the robot’s artificial muscles. These mechanisms, called transmissions, are more durable and reduce mechanical strain on the wings. The wings also use longer hinges to handle stress better during flight. After many trials, the team developed a precise laser-cutting method to make the hinges, which are about 2 centimeters long but only 200 microns wide—thinner than a strand of human hair.

The wings are powered by soft, artificial muscles made of elastic material and carbon nanotube electrodes. T

hese tiny muscles expand and contract at high speeds to flap the wings. Previous designs struggled with muscle buckling, which reduced power and efficiency. The new design minimizes buckling, allowing the wings to generate more force and fly for longer.

The improved design not only increases endurance but also enhances precision. The robots can now perform complex flight patterns, such as spelling out “M-I-T” in the air. One of the researchers described the 1,000-second flight test as “the slowest 1,000 seconds of his life” because it was so nerve-wracking—but also a major breakthrough.

The team’s goal is to push the flight time even further, aiming for over 10,000 seconds. They also want to make the robots precise enough to land and take off from the center of a flower.

Eventually, they hope to add batteries, sensors, and computing power to the robots so they can navigate and pollinate crops outside the lab.

“This new platform is a major step forward,” says Kevin Chen, the lead researcher. “In the next three to five years, we’ll focus on adding sensors, batteries, and computing capabilities to make these robots more independent.”

With these advancements, robotic insects could one day become an important tool in sustainable farming, helping to ensure a stable food supply while protecting the environment.