Based on the mechanisms adopted by birds, bats, insects and snakes, scientists have developed solutions to some of the common problems that drones could be faced with when navigating through an urban environment and performing novel tasks for the benefit of society.
14 research teams have come up with different experimental drones that include a robot with bird-like grasping appendages, and some that form a robo-swarm or flock, inspired by birds, bats, insects and even flying snakes.
Aerial robotics expert Prof David Lentink, from Stanford University in California, said that that this sort of bio-inspiration is pushing drone technology forward, because evolution has solved challenges that drone engineers are just beginning to address.
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has engineered a raptor-like appendage for a drone, enabling it to grasp objects at high speeds by swooping in like a bird of prey.
The studies have been published in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.
Agencies/Canadajournal
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