Researchers are taking a cue from nature to design the next generation of drones.
Novel mechanisms used by animals such as "birds, bats, insects and snakes" could help solve the problems faced by scientists who create self-driven robots, an Institute of Physics news release reported.
Drones are used for a variety of purposes, such as to investigate dangerous areas like Fukushima Japan. Researchers believed these robots would be more effective if they could take cues from each other and fly together like a flock of birds. The research team developed an algorithm in hopes of making this possible.
The researchers demonstrated this algorithm by directing a "flock" of nine quadcopters as they followed a moving car.
The flying microbot is the size of a penny. The drones could deal with extreme temperatures and turbulent weather. The biggest challenge will be creating robots that can withstand violent whirlwinds.
The researchers flew the robots in whirlwind-like conditions to see how they held up. The team employed a technique used by hawk moths to regain flight control.
Flying squirrels, flying fish, and flying snakes use their aerodynamic bodies to jump farther and avoid predators; the researchers decided to use this technique as an inspiration for the drones.
"To enable our drones to fly equally well in wind and clutter, we need to solve several flight control challenges during all flight phases: take-off, cruising, and landing," Doctor David Lentink of Stanford University wrote, the news release reported.
The researchers hope this jump-gliding technique could be used to aid rescue missions in the future.
"This special issue provides a unique integration between biological studies of animals and bio-inspired engineering solutions. Each of the 14 papers presented in this special issue offer a unique perspective on bio-mimetic flight, providing insights and solutions to the take-off, obstacle avoidance, in-flight grasping, swarming, and landing capabilities that urban drones need to succeed," he wrote.
