Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 2 February 2017

Whoosh! Swish! Meet Bat Bot, the new flying batlike drone

SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Holy
drone, Batman! Mechani-
cal masterminds have
spawned the Bat Bot, a
soaring, sweeping and div-
ing robot that may eventu-
ally fly circles around other
drones.
Because it mimics the
unique and more flexible
way bats fly, this 3-ounce
prototype could do a bet-
ter and safer job getting
into disaster sites and scop-
ing out construction zones
than bulky drones with
spinning rotors, said the
three authors of a study re-
leased Wednesday in the This photo provided by Alireza Ramezani, University of Illinois,
journal Science Robotics. shows a Bat Bot, a three-ounce flying robot that they say can
For example, it would have be more agile at getting into treacherous places than standard
been ideal for going inside drones. Associated Press
the damaged Fukushima
nuclear plant in Japan,
said study co-author Seth ers hope to have it perch form upside down, perch-
Hutchinson, an engineer- upside down like the real ing with such elegant wing
ing professor at the Univer- thing, but that will have to movements and deforma-
sity of Illinois. wait for the robot’s sequel. tions, I get mesmerized,”
The bat robot flaps its wings Like the fictional crime said another author, Soon-
for better aerial maneu- fighter Batman, the re- Jo Chung, a professor of
vers, glides to save energy searchers turned to the fly- aerospace at the Califor- This photo provided by Andrea Rummel, Brown University, shows
a bat.
and dive bombs when ing mammal for inspiration nia Institute of Technology. Associated Press
needed. “Whenever I see bats The Bat Bot has nine joints
Eventually, the research- make sharp turns and per- and measures slightly less from federal agencies to fly tious. Smaller fixed-wing
than 8 inches from head them, but Hutchinson said drones have problems with
to tail. Its super-thin mem- these bat robots could be maneuverability and four
brane wings span about a flying around work sites and rotors are not efficient, so
foot and a half. disaster zones within five a bat-inspired design is
The flexible flapping — years. It’s already taken “a very intriguing line of
as much as 10 times per three years and cost $1.5 research,” University of
second — acts “like a big million, including a team of Pennsylvania engineering
power amplifier,” Hutchin- experts from Brown Univer- professor Vijay Kumar said
son said. sity who studied bat flight, in an email. However, he
The researchers still need to Hutchinson said. noted, “it is too early to tell
add cameras, build more Outside robotics experts if these designs will actually
drones and get permission were impressed, but cau- be superior.”q