Parasitoid wasps can drill through relatively hard material such as wood with their ovipositor, a very thin structure through which the wasp transports its eggs. The ovipositor consists of three valves that slide one-by-one deeper in the wood to drill. Not only can the parasitoid wasp drill with this very thin structure through hard material but the wasp is also able to steer during drilling. It is still not fully known how the wasp can do this, but there are multiple hypotheses. Multiple steerable needles were designed based on the wasp ovipositor. The goal of this graduation project is to design a steerable wasp inspired bone drill.

Interested? Contact Esther de Kater: E.P.deKater@tudelft.nl