Nature is a real treasury of ideas for the creators of robots. This time, engineers of the California Technological Institute, together with colleagues from the University of Illinois, developed a robot-tank mouse with soft wings.
An unusual drone is not only an alternative to “brothers” with rotating screws, but also a textbook for scientists in the study of bats of bats. As it turned out, being in flight, they are able to perform wings in 40 different directions due to the most difficult manipulations of joints.
The weight of the robot is only 93 grams, wingspan about 0.3 m. Imitation of the flight of its living analogue has become possible largely thanks to the on -board computer and sensors that provide an autonomous flight.
The hardest thing was to choose material for the wings – at the same time elastic and durable. As a result, the researchers developed a unique silicone membrane with a thickness of 56 microns. With its help, the wing began to leave much less energy than other flying drones.
According to the creators, such drones will find use in hard -to -reach places where rotating blades can injure people or damage objects.