---
title: "This Robotic Bug Was Designed to Survive Swatting"
description: "As if nature wasn’t already full of pests, a team of engineers just built their own — and the little bug can take a beating. The DEAnsect is a soft robot modeled after an insect, and it’s the work of engineers from Switzerland’s École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and France’s University of […]"
date: "2019-12-19"
modified: "2019-12-19"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robotic-bug-survive-swatting"
categories:
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "robot"
  - "robotic bug"
  - "soft robots"
  - "the digest"
---

# This Robotic Bug Was Designed to Survive Swatting

![Engineers built a soft robotic bug capable of surviving harsh punishment like being flattened, stomped, and folded. It's creepy, but a huge step forward.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/robotic-bug-designed-survive-swatting.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: EPFL\</em\>*

## Strong Bug

As if nature wasn't already full of pests, a team of engineers just [built their own](<https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-soft-robotic-insect-that-survives-being-flattene/>) — and the little bug can take a beating.

The DEAnsect is a [soft robot](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/soft-robot-mimics-plant-tendrils>) modeled after an insect, and it's the work of engineers from Switzerland's École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and France's University of Cergy-Pontoise.

After they built the bot, the engineers stomped on it, smooshed it with a fly swatter, and even folded it in half, but the robot kept scooting along — a creepy mental image, sure, but also a big step forward for soft robotics technology.

## Adventure Bug

[According to research](<https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/37/eaaz6451>) published Wednesday in *Soft Robotics*, the engineers built two versions of the DEAnsect — one tethered to a controller and the other wireless and more autonomous — giving scientists the ability to choose the [little critter](<https://futurism.com/tiny-insect-drone-robot-four-wings>) that best meets their needs.

The two versions present a tradeoff between durability and mobility. The tethered model can survive more abuse because it only contains its own tiny artificial muscles. The wireless model, however, has to carry visual sensors, a battery, and other electronics that make it a bit more vulnerable to being squished.

https://youtu.be/s\_qhmBsG\_ZQ

## Useful Bug

Even if the wireless bug can't take as much abuse, the fact that it can carry everything it needs marks a significant leap forward for autonomous soft robots.

"This technique opens up new possibilities for the broad use of \[artificial muscles\] in robotics," researcher Herbert Shea said in the release, "for swarms of intelligent robotic insects, for inspection or remote repairs, or even for gaining a deeper understanding of insect colonies by sending a robot to live amongst them."

**READ MORE:** [A soft robotic insect that survives being flattened by a fly swatter](<https://actu.epfl.ch/news/a-soft-robotic-insect-that-survives-being-flattene/>) \[EPFL newsroom\]

**More on soft robots:** *[This Soft Robot Mimics Plant Tendrils to Creep and Climb](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/soft-robot-mimics-plant-tendrils>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)