text: The humble honeybee may only be small, but scientists are hoping to use its brain to power a series of futuristic-style drones. Boffins are currently working towards digitally recreating the cognitive abilities of the Apis Mellifera or European Honeybee. Their final aim is to build a robot that thinks, senses and acts just like the tiny insects. Scientists are working towards building a robot that thinks, senses and acts just like a honeybee . Professor James Marshall said if they were able to recreate a fraction of the honeybees ability they would have made 'tremendous advances' The artificial brain is being created by the Green Brain Project, which is a collaboration between researchers from the Universities of Sheffield and Sussex. One day it is hoped the remote controlled machines could be used to pollinate crops or even assist on search and rescue missions. 'Bees and all other insects are miracles of engineering which we are nowhere near equalling,' Professor James Marshall reportedly told the BBC. 'If we could even recreate a fraction of their abilities in a robot system then we would have made a tremendous advance.' Building an artificial brain is a complex process and so far, scientist have only managed to clone the part of the bee's brain which allows it to see. To do this they mapped out the  brain of the honeybee and recreated it with circuits that fire on and off in an organic brain, Discovery Magazine reported. The software is then uploaded into the drone's circuitry which enables it to  fly around in a similar fashion to the bee. The projects team now has three quadcopters and one ground robot, each with unique abilities and configurations. Tests are being carried out in a dedicated flying room based at the University of Sheffield. In a video footage showing initial tests the drone, powered by the artificial bee brain, can be seen flying down a corridor. On the Green Brain website it states: 'Since the start of the project, the GB team has setup the lab, built and tested our robots, and begun to demonstrate some sophisticated visual-based navigation and cognitive functions through embodiment. 'Current projects include navigation using the GB models, flight tests of our models with the BeeBot quadcopter, developing a Ground Control Station, initial testing with the chemosensors and more.' Building an artificial brain is a complex process and so far, scientist have only managed to clone the part of the bee's brain which allows it to see .
target: Scientists aim to build robot that thinks, senses and acts like honeybee .
  So far team has managed to replicate part of brain that allows bee to see .
  Green Brain Project is a collaboration between Universities of Sheffield and Sussex .