A robotic insect capable of surviving the blows of a fly swatter

They are becoming smaller and more resistant. Imagine them in swarms.

This small robotic insect DEAnsect is an invention of the EPFL. He is so small and "soft" that he survives the shock he receives like a fly swatter without problem. Normally it can move by vibrations, crawling at about 3 cm per second. Not a big deal, but enough to go from one place to another. The material of which it is manufactured endures deformations such as those of blows without problems.

The version seen in the video has cables to feed the "muscles" with which it moves, but it also exists in an autonomous version that recharges wirelessly. Its less than one gram (in fact if the battery were removed it would weigh only 0.2 grams) and although it is not very clever, the microcontroller that has it incorporated allows it to perform a few basic functions.

At the moment the DEAnsect is an individual entity but in future versions they want to make it possible to communicate with equals, so that they form swarms capable of cooperating in some tasks.