Flap, Flap! The Bat Bot is all set to fly.
Bats have always gained interest because of their complex structure and flight. That’s what makes them scary!
Scientists and Engineers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have recreated the bats. The Bat Bot is so real on a flight with its soft, articulated wings.
While drones are everywhere these days, these engineers have recreated something challenging. They believe that Bat Bot’s design would lead them to build more safe and efficient flying robots. It weighs around 93 grams, which is lesser than the actual golden flying fox (1.6kg).
The interlocking bone structure and the complex wing structure of bats make them fly in 40 rotational directions. The engineers from Caltech have mentioned that the Bat Bot has a wingspan of roughly one foot and is capable of flexing, extending, and twisting shoulders, elbows, wrists, and legs. The wings are made of a special ultra-thin (56 microns) silicon membrane to simulate the stretch and achieve bat-like flapping.
The engineers also mentioned that the Bat Bot is more energy-efficient than the current flying robots as its wing design creates a huge amplification in every flap. Also, the Bat Bots can be used in environments where the traditional drones couldn’t get through or collide with their spinning rotors.
