The drone market is full of different models with a more or less surprising design. Among these, we can notably cite the prototype developed by the research team of the Lentink Lab of Stanford University which is very close to a bird thanks to its wings.
Until now, nothing new. Several drone models are already taking the form of birds to go (almost) unnoticed, but here, it is mainly a question of reproducing the behavior of birds and, more precisely, their wings.
Indeed, the Lentink Lab drone is equipped with mobile wings made up of feathers. It can extend and change the shape of its wings in mid-flight, as well as fold them in order to gain speed. Ultimately, copying the behavior of birds could improve drones. They could gain in reactivity of movement and thus, make tight turns or face turbulence.
The pigeon as a model
The researchers studied the behavior of pigeons to develop the PigeonBot. "Birds can dynamically change the shape of their wings during flight, although the way this is accomplished is poorly understood," said the researchers.
They also described their observations in great detail in the journal ScienceMag . The study of the flight capacity of birds is more at the heart of their research, but this could bring particularly notable improvements to drones.
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- Technology
- science
- Pigeon
- Drone
- High-Tech
- Bird
- Robot