Developed by a team of engineers from Stanford University in the United States

A flying “robot” that can land on objects and cling to them

The new "robot" structure includes motors and fishing line to be used as muscles and tendons.

AFP

A team of engineers from Stanford University in the United States has developed robotic clips that can be attached to drones, to turn them into robotic birds capable of grabbing objects, resting on different surfaces, and clinging to them.

These new capabilities would allow flying "robots" to conserve battery life rather than having to stand still, for example during searches for survivors, or help biologists more easily take samples in forests.

"We want to be able to land anywhere, so that's exciting from an engineering and (robots) point of view," said David Lentink, co-author of the Science Robotics article on the new innovation.

He added, "As is often the case in the field of (robotics), the project was inspired by animal behavior - in this case the way birds land on tree branches and cling to them - in order to overcome technical difficulties."

But he made it clear that mimicking these birds, which millions of years of evolution have allowed them to cling to on branches of different sizes or shapes, is no easy task. To this end, the Stanford team used high-speed cameras to study how small parrots land on perches of varying size and materials, such as wood, And foam, sandpaper and Teflon, as well as sensors placed on the branches that record the force with which the birds land and take off again.

The scientists noted that while the landing motion was the same in each position, the parrots used their legs to adapt to the differences they encountered.

More specifically, birds wrap their claws around the site on which they perch, and use soft, folded pads to ensure good adhesion.

To give it the ability to withstand a small drone with four propellers, the scientists designed the clamps based on the model of the legs of a peregrine falcon.

The structure of the new "robot", made from a 3D printer, includes motors and fishing line to be used as muscles and tendons.

It takes 20 milliseconds to attach the clamps, and then the accelerometer tells the robot that the landing is complete.

It is noteworthy that when experimenting with the new robotic bird, it was able to grab objects that were thrown at it, such as tennis balls, and land in real conditions in the forests of the northwest of the United States.

• The new capabilities allow the flying "robots" to save on the consumption of their batteries.

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