Autonomous flapping robot mimics fruit fly manoeuvres

Known as DelFly Nimble, the robot is helping researchers to better understand the mechanics of insect flight and has potential for a range of new drone applications. Insects use their wings to power and direct their flight, allowing them to hover efficiently as well as accelerate and escape from danger rapidly. DelFly Nimble mimics this capability, beating its wings 17 times per second to stay airborne and also control its flight through subtle changes in wing motion.

“The robot has a top speed of 25km/h and can even perform aggressive manoeuvres, such as 360-degree flips, resembling loops and barrel rolls,” said TU Delft’s Matěj Karásek, first author of the study, which is published in Science. “Moreover, the 33cm wingspan and 29g robot has, for its size, excellent power efficiency, allowing five minutes of hovering flight or more than a 1km flight range on a fully charged battery.”