“The tail moves, too” A drone modeled after a new wing

Even aeronautical engineers who can develop ultra-high-speed airplanes still cannot design properly. It is an aircraft that flies as fast as a bird. The EPFL research team of the Lausanne Federal Institute of Technology has recently unveiled a new model that can move its tail by conducting research on unmanned aerial vehicles that can fly while spreading or shortening wings like a bird.

Imitation of the bird’s flight method is nothing new in itself, such as spreading its wings and accelerating it while reducing air resistance by reducing its wings while riding the airflow. Fighters such as Northrop Thruman’s F-14 Tomcat have variable wings for improved low-speed and high-speed performance, but their relatively simple design allows for slow wing movement, far from the agility of birds changing their wing shape during flight.

The unmanned aerial vehicle announced by EPFL is an upgraded version of the model introduced in 2016. Inspired by the goshawks studied, the transforming wing has been improved in size and shape so that it looks and works more like a bird. It also includes wings that control the tail of the airplane.

Already, quadcopter drones are proving to be easy to maneuver by flying over a city full of numerous obstacles. However, there is a big problem that flight time is limited due to the use of four motors as power sources. In this regard, EPFL drones can use one motor to use energy-saving technologies like tidal currents, such as downhill and wind flow, ascending or warm air currents.

Unlike aircraft with fixed wings, a drone modeled on a bird can demonstrate subtle movements with agility close to a quadcopter capable of making a sharp turn or dive. The ultimate goal of the new wing model approach is to design a drone with improved flight time even in areas full of obstacles, such as in a wooded forest and a city lined with buildings. But you probably won’t be doing this kind of quadcopter drone. With the world running toward autonomous delivery systems, it is relatively safe for drones to fly in the sky rather than covering the roads with autonomous delivery vehicles.

Quadcopter drones can fly and carry parcels right after they reach a specific destination. On the other hand, EPFL drones can be limited in use to autonomous reconnaissance, autonomous exploration, and first aid if there is no reliable means of having a landing gear and cargo. Related information can be found here .