Robot bird using a talon-like claw to land safely on a perch, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switerland


Watch this robot bird use a talon-like claw to land safely on a perch

Dec 15, 2022

Landing and perching on a branch is an activity that birds can easily perform hundreds of times a day, but it’s a difficult mechanism for robots that fly in the same way to replicate due to the complexity of landing and their larger size.

Raphael Zufferey at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and his colleagues developed a robotic bird, which has a 1.5 metre wingspan and weighs 700 grams, that can use a claw to perch on a branch in the lab after a short flight.

"Watch this robot bird use a talon-like claw to land safely on a perch"
A talon-like claw with sharp ends and a softer middle helps this flying robot grasp onto thin perches just like a bird

by Alex Wilkins
December 15, 2022
 
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