Tiny robot insects might seem little more than fun, geeky gadgets to some, but the potential for these cyber-critters in areas like search and rescue, agriculture and hazard detection is massive – and ...

As an emerging frontier in biomimetic intelligent microsystems, insect-scale flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FWMAVs) demonstrate significant application potential due to their exceptional ...

Although wing-flapping micro-drones do already exist, the things tend to be quite fragile – and thus not ideally suited to real-world use. An experimental new one, however, utilizes a softer mechanism ...

Researchers from the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre in Germany have been inspired by birds to produce a new versatile design of Micro air vehicle (MAV) that combines flapping wings, which allow it to ...

To avoid some of the design challenges involved in creating micro-scale air vehicles that mimic the flapping of winged insects or birds, researchers propose using flexible wings that are driven by a ...

The study of bio-inspired flapping flight and the dynamics of micro air vehicles (MAVs) has grown into a vibrant interdisciplinary field, merging insights from insect biomechanics, aerodynamics and ...

Scientists have designed a micro aircraft that will be able to flap, glide and hover like a bird. Researchers from the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre in Germany have been inspired by birds to produce a ...