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Secrets of hovering kestrels to help drones beat city winds
Researchers hope they could inspire new drone and plane designs able to better cope with turbulence.
Camera and motion capture technology enabled researchers to observe two Nankeen Kestrels, called Kevy and Jedda, as they hovered in a wind tunnel operated by RMIT. While being fed, the birds were fitted with little reflective stickers in much the same way human actors are when their movements are captured for visual effects in films, a process researchers say didn't bother the kestrels. Previous work Dr Windsor has supervised involved fitting backpacks to gulls to explore how they use air currents around buildings to maximise the efficiency of their urban foraging.
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