August, 04, 2022

A Robotic Bird That Actually Flies

This is a robotic bird that actually flies with foldable wings with flapping capabilities.

GRIFFIN ERC Advanced Grant project. A robotic bird flying. Courtesy of the University of Seville.

A team of researchers from the University of Seville in Spain created robotic birds that can perform a variety of tasks like typical drones and many more.
A robotic bird’s flying time is double that of a standard drone’s, which is about 20-30 minutes, and its flapping wings assist in conserving battery life. On the other hand, they do not have rotors, which significantly reduce noise.
These robots have onboard perception capabilities, including object detection and tracking, robot localization, mapping, and image stabilization as well as manipulation capabilities. The control system is based on kinematic, dynamic, and aerodynamic models with dynamic object avoidance giving the robotic birds the ability to fly autonomously and perform cooperative tasks with others.

The robotic bird’s control system. Courtesy of the University of Seville.

There is still a long way to go for these robots. Until now, they have been tested indoors and outdoors with flapping wings. Next, they must overcome the challenge of using onboard machine learning and other AI technology to automatically respond to changing external factors, such as wind currents or uneven surfaces.
Researchers hope these robotic birds will perform practical tasks and assist in emergency situations by the year 2030.

Reference:

https://griffin-erc-advanced-grant.eu/