Sunil K. Agrawal, a robotics expert at the University of Delaware, is working on small robotic devices that mimic the flight of birds, such as the hummingbird. He chose the hummingbird because it can hover, a key characteristic for the goal of these devices, which is surveillance. In fact, these robots will carry miniature cameras and fly in groups, while sending their surveillance data wirelessly to a central computer. They will be used in industrial and military applications as well as in rescue operations.
These robots have a body made from carbon fiber composites and their wings are in Mylar. And when the researchers sent them in the air, they noticed an unexpected reaction from real birds.
"When it flew, birds from nearby came and circled around it," Agrawal said.
I'm not sure if I would have circled around them, because I'm not a bird, but I can understand those real birds.
Here is a part of a photo showing Sunil Agrawal (right) and one of his assistants, Zaeem Khan looking at one their robotic "birds." (Photo by Kathy Atkinison). The full version of the photo is available here and is over one megabyte.
So, what's next?
Agrawal said the research team is now working to optimize the design so that the mass and power required can be kept to a minimum. He said he hopes to further miniaturize the birds to the point that they are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, while at the same time working to integrate controls to guide flight.
Agrawal said the research team plans to take new designs to a wind tunnel, where the birds will be put in various flying attitudes to gather data on force and torque. That information will be used to predict how to improve and control the movement of the birds, and future designs will then be refined using computer models.
So, the next time you hear a hummingbird, open your eyes. It might be sent by the police or the army. And if you don't know the sound produced by a real hummingbird, you can visit this website and go down to the section "Hummingbird Sound WAVs."
Source: University of Delaware news release, January 8, 2004
7:27:29 PM
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