Grasping Robotic Drone Can Land on a Branch Like a Freakin’ Bird - Gizmodo

A newly developed, bio-inspired aerial robot can land on a variety of branches and carry objects like a bird.

Working with Stanford University engineers Mark Cutkosky and David Lentink (now at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands), Roderick sought to build a bona fide perching robot.

The new contraption is called SNAG, which stands for “stereotyped nature-inspired aerial grasper.” By “stereotyped,” the engineers are referring to the formulaic behavior involved in bird landings.

A servomotor on SNAG’s hip “orients the leg right before perching and balances the robot after landing by rotating the center of mass toward the center of the perch similar to a bird,” the engineers write in their paper.

“Too early makes the leg too stiff to fully collapse, while too late reduces the energy absorbed and thus increases the likelihood of damage,” the engineers write, adding that the “timing of leg muscle and tendon tension onset may be equally important in birds and other animals.”.

“If we could have a robot that could act like a bird, that could unlock completely new ways of studying the environment.” And in fact, it already did some of the latter, as the aerial robot measured microclimates in a remote Oregon forest using onboard temperature and humidity sensors.