Researchers at the University of Washington have created a small drone called the Smellicopter fitted with live moth antenna. The drone uses those live moth antennae to seek out smells. It can smell ...

In order to detect the presence of nearby females, the male silk moth utilizes an oily coating on his antennae. Any female pheromone molecules that are in the air will stick to that coating, which ...

No matter how good we humans have made something, chances are nature did it better millions of years ago. Rather than compete, it’s often better to tap into the natural version – and that’s exactly ...

NAGANO, Japan >> Researchers in Japan have developed an odor-detecting drone that uses antennae taken from insects. The “insect drone” can autonomously find its way to the source of an odor. The ...

When it comes to tracking scents, technological sensors tend to fall short. The tube-like moth antenna slides right onto a pair of thin metal wires that enable the autonomous drone to pick up on its ...

(Nanowerk News) One huge advantage of drones is that these little robots can go places where people can’t, including areas that might be too dangerous, such as unstable structures after a natural ...

Scientists have wondered how four-winged insects most active at low-light times of the day accomplish complex navigational maneuvers, since they lack the structures that help two-winged insects to ...

A moth antenna is attached to tiny wires in an arc sharp on a drone at the University of Washington. (UW Photo / Mark Stone) University of Washington researchers continue to push the boundaries ...

Male moths have evolved intricate scale arrangements on their antennae to enhance detection of female sex pheromones, which allows them to keep their antennae small enough to maximize flying, new ...

There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a strange year. So strange, in fact, that the idea of an obstacle-dodging, autonomous cyborg drone that uses a real live moth antenna to track down smells doesn’t ...

Bombs and explosives leave a telltale chemical trace in the air around them. To detect these tiny amounts of airborne volatile chemical explosives, alert squads at airports and elsewhere rely on the ...