Bird-inspired drone relies on sense of touch to firmly grasp branches
Countless fields, from military operations to environmental research, rely heavily on drones. Executing a safe landing is still one of the biggest challenges, especially when conditions are far from perfect.
Researchers have already come up with some pretty creative solutions. Learning from the animal world, they developed drones that can land on steep, icy surfaces using technology inspired by cat claws, or that slow down for a landing by extending flying-squirrel-inspired wing membranes. But landing on tree branches is even more complex, so it has remained an unresolved challenge.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just keep the drone hovering in the air, then? Well, sometimes that’s exactly what researchers need, but some other times it can get in the way, mainly for two reasons: hovering drains the battery pretty quickly and produces a constant, noticeable noise. When it comes to observing wildlife, researchers need something closer to a...
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