Scientists have developed a new bird-like drone equipped with feathers which is capable of changing its wingspan, flying at high speed and moving through tight spaces.
Birds alter the configuration of their wings, when they need to change direction, increase their speed or counter headwinds. To steer, they spread one wing and slightly retract the other. By adjusting their wingspan in this way, they create a calculated imbalance that causes them to turn.
After observing birds in flight, researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de lausanne in Switzerland built an energy-efficient winged drone capable of changing its wingspan, flying at high speed and moving through tight spaces.
“We were inspired by birds: they can radically transform the size and shape of their wings because they have an articulated skeleton that is controlled by muscles and covered in feathers that overlap when the wings are folded,” said Matteo di luca from Brown University in the US.