Flapping-wing robots that mimic the flight mechanics of birds and insects are closing the control gap with conventional quadrotor drones, according to a cluster of recent peer-reviewed studies.

Flapping-wing ornithopter drones may potentially be more agile and energy-efficient than their fixed-wing counterparts, but most of them still can't loiter in one spot. A new model addresses that ...

Bio-inspired wind sensing using strain sensors on flexible wings could revolutionize robotic flight control strategy. Researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo have developed a method to detect wind ...

“Our study enhances our understanding of birds’ flight mechanisms and provides theoretical guidance for developing efficient bio-inspired flapping-wing aerial vehicles.” said Yishi Shen. Authors of ...

The study of bio-inspired flapping flight and the dynamics of micro air vehicles (MAVs) has grown into a vibrant interdisciplinary field, merging insights from insect biomechanics, aerodynamics and ...

Some insects can flap their wings so rapidly that it’s impossible for instructions from their brains to entirely control the behaviour. Building tiny flapping robots has helped researchers shed light ...