Insect-like drones that tend crops, perform aircraft inspections and find gas leaks are here, and they’re only the beginning!

Today I’m diving into the future of bio-inspired drones with the one and only Professor Guido de Croon, head of the Micro-Air Vehicle Lab at Delft Technical University in The Netherlands.

Guido shares the latest insect-inspired research developments in vision-systems, energy-efficient intelligence, height-sensing, autonomous navigation, swarming, energy-harvesting and speedy decision-making. We discuss early commercial applications and spinout companies, and how the MAVLab team is building on it’s victory in the 2025 autonomous drone racing championship in Abu Dhabi to take agility to a whole new level.

It’s the stuff of sci-fi, except … it isn’t. MAVLab creations now flap their wings like birds and dragonflies, carry sensors that process information and facilitate ‘event-based’ decisions much like eyes, ears and brains do in the natural world. They emulate the navigation ‘alogithms’ of bees and ants. They swarm to accomplish collective goals based on how insects do it. Will robot insects one day harvest energy from their environment, thereby extending their missions indefinitely? You’ll have to listen to find out!

As you’ll hear, I’m thrilled to be catching-up with Guido. He’s one of my favorite scientists. He’s happy, positive, and bursting with ideas to help industry. Ever since we first connected in 2021 I’ve enjoyed featuring MAVLab creations in my presentations. Why? Because these tiny drones ‘push the limits’ of what’s possible by drawing inspiration from nature, an approach that will continue to unlock new opportunities for decades, and because (despite being tiny) they inspire audiences think BIGGER about the future!

Thank you Guido, for your passionate, joy-filled insights on the future of tiny drones.

Vancouver, Dublin, Los Angeles, Sydney – in so many cities I visit, skyrocketing rents and prices are making housing a struggle for ordinary people. For younger people especially, it is a generational challenge that limits their future prosperity.

But all over Europe communities are using collaborative housing to pool capital and enjoy a host of shared financial and social benefits in return. Is this a better way?

In this episode, I'm in The Netherlands exploring collaborative housing with Darinka Czischke, Professor of Housing and Social Sustainability at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).

Darinka debunks a few myths associated with the oft-repeated phrase ‘housing crisis’ before diving into the motivations behind these communities and the shared benefits that transcend affordability. She details where and why collaborative housing projects thrive, the importance of scale, how scale has already been achieved in places like Zurich, and the national and cultural factors that support collaborative housing. We discuss multi-generational approaches, and how community-based options unlock more benefits than “aging-in-place” strategies. City governments are identified as key enablers, and Darinka shares what policymakers can do to help.

My favorite part? Darinka’s first-hand observations from collaborative housing projects she has stayed in.

There’s something for everyone in this conversation. Darinka is a passionate advocate for a better future; her insights are practical, universal, and VERY topical.

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As always, additional commentary and takeaways and the full transcript will be on the Future Bites page soon. More on my work as a Futurist Speaker, and why I do what I do, at www.brucemccabe.com

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with friends and colleagues? Getting more people aware of real projects for equitable and socially sustainable housing has to be one way to contribute to a better future!

Microscale robots will be conducting medical procedures inside our bodies sooner than you think. That’s the big takeaway from this fascinating conversation with Prof. Bradley Nelson, head of the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zürich, and for those of us who grew up watching Fantastic Voyage, that's a stunning statement!

Brad walks us through the lab’s tiny bio-inspired prototypes and associated innovations in propulsion, power-delivery, external control and biocompatibility. He discusses the special challenges of fabricating and operating robots at micro- and nano-scales, and how all these developments are now converging into tiny robots capable of performing real-world procedures such as thrombectomies and precision drug deliveries to tumors inside the brain.

He also explores targets for first procedures, future aspirations, the regulatory approvals journey and the ‘democratization of surgery’ benefits that will be unlocked by adding telesurgery and more autonomy.

Prof. Brad Nelson has spent more than 40 years researching and building robots and has won numerous awards in robotics, nanotechnology, and biomedicine. He was named to the "Scientific American 50" list for outstanding acts of leadership in science and technology. His lab is undefeated international champion in Robocup's Nanogram Soccer League and he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the "Most Advanced Mini Robot for Medical Use!

My special thanks to him for hosting me and sharing his insights, and also to Oliver Brinkman, who took time away from his blood vessel navigation experiments(!) to show me around the lab.

It’s an inspiring journey into the near future of medicine. Enjoy!

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As always, additional commentary and takeaways and the full transcript will be on the Future Bites page soon. More on my work as a Futurist Speaker, and why I do what I do, at www.brucemccabe.com

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