Published on Jan 16, 2014
By mimicking how a moth moves, a quadcopter can hover and fly even in high winds -- perfect for surveillance
Small drones find it difficult to fly in strong winds and cluttered environments. So Physical Sciences Inc
(PSI) based in Andover, Massachusetts, in association with the US
military, filmed hawk moths to see how they manage to stay aloft.
The firm used a motion-tracking system
familiar to film-makers, attaching reflective beads to moth wings and
recording the moth's flight via high-speed cameras. The moth's ability
to react very quickly to disturbances in the air seems to be key to its
success. While moths do collide with things, they can recover quickly.
"Typically they recover stability in about one wing beat," says PSI's
Thomas Vaneck.
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