Researcher Uses a Robot with Pigeon Feathers to Show How Birds Stabilize Flight Without a Vertical Tail
Have you ever wondered why airplanes have a ‘vertical fin’? It’s essential for stabilizing flight. While effective, eliminating the vertical tail could make flight more energy-efficient, and the aviation industry has been striving to achieve this goal — but so far, with little success. However, birds manage to fly without a vertical fin, which raises the question: how do they do it?
David Lentink, a Professor of Biomimetics at the University of Groningen, developed a robotic bird model using real pigeon feathers to demonstrate how they achieve this.
In previous research, Lentink discovered that birds constantly adjust the shape of their wings and tail. In his latest study, he shows that his pigeon-like robot can replicate these movements. The research was published in the journal Science Robotics.
The Robot: PigeonBot II
The robot, named “PigeonBot II,” uses an algorithm that controls nine servomotors, allowing the feathers to continuously change the shape of the wings and tail, mimicking the reflexes birds use to stabilize during flight.
Read More:
- American Airlines Invests in a Very Different Way of Flying
- Green Hydrogen: The Future Fuel Begins to Crawl
- How Does a Hydrogen-Powered Car Work?
Airplanes Could Fly Like Birds
In 1929, German scientist Franz Groebbels suggested that this continuous adjustment allows birds to fly like “automatic airplanes.” Almost a century later, the “PigeonBot II” robot successfully tested this theory, evaluated in a wind tunnel and then flying autonomously outdoors.
Beyond demonstrating how birds can fly without vertical fins, Lentink’s work could aid in designing more economical airplanes. “The European group Airbus has developed a visual concept of how an airplane could look, and our study provides the knowledge needed to realize this idea.”
Another benefit of the new design concept is the reduction of an airplane’s radar signature, which could enhance the operations of jet fighters.
