Leonardo: A bird-like robot

Leonardo is a case when wildlife inspired robotics. We wrote about an insect robot in one of our previous materials but this time, we will talk about a bird robot. Birds have quite delicate and gangly legs....

Leonardo is a case when wildlife inspired robotics. We wrote about an insect robot in one of our previous materials but this time, we will talk about a bird robot.

Birds have quite delicate and gangly legs. For this reason, few people would think of applying the principles of their musculoskeletal system performance in robotics. But the employees of the California Institute of Technology hit upon the idea and the result is amazing.

The point is that researchers noticed one simple thing: birds’ wings stabilize their walking and offset their physique’s weaknesses. This is the axis of the new robot’s project with just one difference: the wings have been replaced by rotating thrusters, similar to the ones helicopters are fitted out with.

The name Leonardo comes from the phrase LEg ON Aerial Robotic DrOne, that implies the robot's specific feature described above.

While other robotics experts ponder how to teach their gadgets to rise after falls, the California Institute of Technology staff applied the principle observed in wildlife and made sure that their ‘child’ never falls.