New generation of ultralight drone takes flight with flapping wings

A new generation of ultralight drone has been designed using flapping wings, as opposed to rigid ones, or rotating propellers. Alireza Ramezan, a roboticist at Boston's Northeastern University, devised the UAV after studying nature and hopes it could one day be used to enhance modern life by pollinating crops, collecting weather data and monitoring traffic. They may even function as'guardians of future cities', monitoring elderly people who live alone, or by working with the emergency services. Mimic: The Bat Bot has highly stretchable silicone-based membrane wings that are controlled by number of joints, much like the creature it's inspired by'There will be these machines that are round the clock doing monitoring and providing information,' says Dr Ramezani. 'We can think of them as the guardians of future cities.' Dr Ramezani came up with the idea after studying how bats take flight.