One of the problems when creating an accurate copy of a live bird is that his wings can move independently of one another. This, however, has been recently solved by a team from the Maryland Robotics Center. They managed to create the Robo Crow, which appears to other animals so much like a real crow that they hunt it. The drone got dove by hawks several times during the test of the prototypes.
U.S. Army Research Laboratory provided the funds for the project which after several years of development produced a nearly two feet long raven. This UAV has hollow skeleton just like normal birds do but is made with the help of a 3D printer. The plastic used for the creation of the UAS was thermal resistant. Other materials used during the process were foam, carbon and Mylar foil, which stretched on the skeleton created the wings and the tail. The project has been researched on by professor SK Gupta since 2007. One of the factors that slowed the process considerably was short life span of its prototypes. Many of the previous models of the UAV often crashed or were attacked by an aerial hunter.
“Our new robot, Robo Raven, is based on a fundamentally new design concept. It uses two programmable motors that can be synchronized electronically to coordinate motion between the wings.”
Of course, the motors can run each in a different pattern as well. This new type of a motion allows for manoeuvers which were previously impossible to achieve. The UAV can do rolls or dives at the press of a button, but still it gets outclassed by the natural inhabitants of the skies.
If you’d like to read more information about this new UAS visit the link below.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-robo-raven-is-so-lifelike-it-fools-birdbrains-511919948
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Image source: http://weschavis.blogspot.cz/2011/05/insomina-part-four-raven.html
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