Drone technology has seen rapid improvement over the past few years, changing the way we explore the world and fight wars. Now, researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and UC Irvine are testing a new drone with fixed wings and mechanical bird-like legs.
The robotic avian-inspired vehicle for many environments, or RAVEN for short, can easily take off and land in places where conventional fixed-wing aircraft cannot. Researchers say the bird-like legs allow it to walk around, jump over obstacles and even jump into the air to fly.
While quadcopters like the one from DJI are smaller and more flexible, they often rely on four motors that aren’t as powerful as fixed-wing drones, which are typically powered by a single motor used to glide through the air. In a report published in Nature earlier this week, the researchers said they drew inspiration from birds such as crows and crows.
The drone uses a combination of springs and motors that aim to mimic “powerful avian tendons and muscles” and also has “two articulated structures” that act as fingers. These artificial fingers not only prevent the drone from falling on its face but also allow it to move and take off. Also helps with things like
These feet are not as complex as a bird’s feet, but their organic design allows RAVEN to move like a bird. According to IEEE SpectrumThe drone has a body length of 50 cm with a wingspan of 100 cm. It can also run a distance of one meter in four seconds and jump across a gap up to 12 centimeters wide.
Compared to traditional fixed-wing drones, which fail to land on smooth surfaces and require a sort of runway to take off, RAVEN can operate in places where people can’t go, while using less power than quadcopters.