Swiss develop drone to explore forest canopy
Friday 12 Apr 2024
Inspired by cockroaches, Swiss researchers have developed a new drone which
can push away obstacles and move past them. In the future, it will be used to
measure biodiversity in remote areas.
Environmental monitoring in areas with dense vegetation is a major challenge for
scientists, according to a press release issued by the Swiss Federal Institute
for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). Although it is possible to take
samples from individual branches, it has not yet been possible to penetrate
further into the canopy.
According to the researchers, the greatest difficulty is that the branches are
flexible and cause the drone to vibrate. The WSL researchers led by Emanuele
Aucone, with researchers from the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and
the University of Pisa, sought a solution to this problem. They found it in the
body structure of cockroaches, which is streamlined and consists of low-friction
material.
Successful tests
They applied this to the drone, which they presented in the journal Nature
Communications. The researchers also equipped the drone with spatial
intelligence throughout its body, as the WSL explained. The drone was given
haptic feedback capability so it can react when it contacts its surroundings.
In initial tests, the cockroach drone was a success. It was able to push away
branches with and without leaves and move past them. With a non-streamlined body
or a material which causes higher friction, however, the drone got stuck in the
experiment. In the next step, the researchers want to improve their drone even
further. For example, it should be able to react to several obstacles at the
same time.
Source: www.swissinfo.ch
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