It’s a bird! That’s a drone! No, actually it is a drone that can cling like a bird. Bats can hang upside down, clinging to something; the birds cling to the perch and just sit on it all night. And so the new drones could use this technique save energy, grabbing something. “To cling to and rest is a way to reduce energy consumption, improve stability and increase the field of view in many cases,” says Kaya hang from Yale University, the author of an article published in Science is Robotics.
According to him, this strategy will be very useful for the applications “hang to and watch” when the drones are placed on high objects and conduct long-term surveillance.
To teach a drone to cling claws
This shrinkage of the drone were studied previously, however, often require complex maneuvering. The new drone has a claw, which allows him to cling to all that is less than the width of grip: branches, road signs or lights. Engineers have equipped the drone managed three fingers with the “pin modules” (devices that serve as a connection point with objects), to simulate the clinging style of different animals, like bats or birds of prey.
For example, clinging to one of the parties in the region, the drone can turn off two of the propeller and to spend about 45% less energy. It can also grab the branch and hang upside down like a bat, and did off all rotors. Or he can sit on the perch and even though the screws have to be active, it will consume 69 percent less energy.
Giving drones the grip can provide them with great strength lifting and more safe interaction with people. “As soon as the drone caught on something, he will be able to lift much larger loads without impacting advanced rotors,” says hung.
The next step of the command will equip these drones to real-world conditions such as weather on the street. If these drones will be able somewhere to “hang out”, they will be able for the marathon flights. However, with breaks.
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