The aerospace engineering students at Delft University of Technology have developed the micro-aircraft Roboswift, with the Experimental Zoology Group of Wageningen University, Netherlands. The aircraft can be used to study birds, or to spy over groups of people or vehicles. The National Police Services Agency (KLPD) has offered to provide financial support to the development of the Roboswift. The ‘morphing’ wings of Roboswift make the aircraft very efficient. The wing span is 50 cm and weight is less than 100g. Its equipped with a very quiet electric motor with a propeller. Roboswift also has feathers, just four of them on each wing. The addition of 3 micro cameras onboard is very instrumental in performing surveillance. The two front staring cameras are used for video–piloting and can be shown on a VR headset, while the ground–facing camera will be used for ground supervision. The robot can fine-tune both the wing shape and surface area throughout flight incessantly. In the upcoming future, the craft will be programmed with bird-flying behaviors such as gliding. So, now onwards whenever you see skywards don’t assume that only birds can fly, rather a Roboswift could be flying overhead to trace you out.
Source: NextNature
