AsiaIndustrial NetNews: UAVs have penetrated into various fields, but at present, the UAVs used in many places are multi-rotor. Multi-rotor UAVs have their own advantages, but sometimes the disadvantages are also obvious, such as the battery life of small UAVs. Ability, wind resistance, etc. In order to enable small UAVs to become the main force in professional UAVs to perform some tasks similar to “reconnaissance”, UAV companies have begun to focus on bionic machines.
Recently, the British start-up company Animal Dynamics’s dragonfly-like micro drone Skeeter has attracted people’s attention. The drone is inspired by dragonflies. Researchers have found that birds and insects can better withstand strong winds during flight. The turbulent air conditions brought by it, and in the endurance time, the bionic UAV is also better than the multi-rotor.
Skeeter is currently in the research and development stage and has begun to take shape. It is reported that the drone is about 120 mm long, weighs about 20 grams, and can fly at a speed of 45 kilometers per hour. According to the researchers, if the Skeeter is successfully developed in the future, it may be able to hover and fly in the wind like a dragonfly, and at the same time, it can also glide by inertia, and it will have better performance in terms of energy consumption.
At present, Skeeter has received the attention of the British Ministry of Defense through the Defense Technology Laboratory (DSTL). DSTL announced an innovation plan for military technology research last year, which encourages individuals or companies to submit innovative ideas or innovations to the Ministry of Defense expert panel. In the next ten years, DSTL will have a budget of 800 million pounds to fund these innovators. At present, Skeeter has become one of the funded projects. In the future, it will be used in military fields such as urban monitoring, wartime reconnaissance, and casualty search and rescue. It also includes installing lasers on the drone to neutralize missiles.
Animal Dynamics also announced that a prototype of the laser-type Dragonfly drone will be on Display this summer, with full military deployment by the end of next year.
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