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Researchers put bird legs on a drone so it can take off by jumping

Copying nature’s homework.

Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and UC Irvine have developed a drone capable of landing and taking off in areas that would otherwise leave a fixed-wing aircraft stranded. Their Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments(RAVEN) trades traditional landing gear for a pair of bird-inspired articulated legs that allow the drone to walk around, hop over obstacles, and even leap into the air to take flight without the need for a runway. Recreating the strength and capabilities of a bird’s legs mechanically without adding significant weight to a drone and reducing its operating range required a mix of “mathematical models, computer simulations, and experimental iterations.”

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