This flapping-wing robot can land, perch like a bird

Aerial robots with wings that flap create lift and push, enabling smooth, secure, and effective flying. However, in order to broaden the area of their use, these robots must perch and land, a skill frequently displayed by birds.

Perching and landing involve a highly delicate equilibrium of timing, high-impact forces, velocity and precision. Ornithopters, or robots which have flapping wings, were unable to master these skills despite recent advancements.

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But now, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and the University of Seville have created the first avian-like robot that can fly and land exactly like a bird.

The findings of the invention were published in the journal Nature Communications in December, 2022.

Engineering challenges in designing the robot included controlling several parameters that nature has so expertly regulated. While perching, the ornithopter had to drastically slow down while still maintaining flight.

The robot’s claw has to be powerful enough to hold the perch and sustain the robot’s weight without being too heavy to lift. “That’s one reason we went with a single claw rather than two,” said Raphael Zufferey, the first author of the study.

The leg-claw attachment of the ornithopter was highly tuned to account for the up-and-down movement of flight as it sought to focus on and hold the perch. The claw would absorb the robot’s forward velocity upon impact and it would securely hold its weight. When a robot is perched, it stays there without using any energy.

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The ornithopter was outfitted with an onboard computer and navigation system that the researchers used with an external motion-capture device to aid in positioning.

“Once an ornithopter can master landing autonomously on a tree branch, then it has the potential to carry out specific tasks, such as collecting biological samples or measurements from a tree,” said Zufferey.

Eventually, it could even land on artificial structures, which could open up further areas of application,” Zufferey added.

Ornithopters, like many unmanned aerial vehicles , have limited battery life. The ability to land on a perch will provide a more effective means for them to recharge using solar energy, making them perfect for long-range missions.

The researchers are considering expanding the device’s potential for other real-world applications. The flight experiments were conducted indoors to have a controlled flight zone with precise localisation from the motion capture system.

“In the future, we would like to increase the robot’s autonomy to perform perching and manipulation tasks outdoors in a more unpredictable environment,” he said.

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