This AI-powered shape-shifting wing could make aircraft tails obsolete — and slash travel costs

• Engineers at the German Aerospace Center are developing a morphing wing currently intended to reduce drag and replace functions of other parts of the plane’s design
• A drone equipped with a morphing wing has been used in testing
• The Morphing Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Research (morphAIR) project has a one million Euro budget

A wing that changes shape is in development at the German Aerospace Center, as part of a one million Euro project that could redefine the traditional view of an aircraft.

Rather than a tube with fixed wings and tailplane, future aircraft based on this technology could change shape to cope with changes in flight conditions, reduce drag, and even morph a portion of the wings to handle pitch control and other tailplane functions.

Engineers have tested the technology – part of the Morphing Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Research (morphAIR) project – with a 70 kilo drone, equipped...

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