The robot bird Raven can walk, jump and dart – just like a raven. Raven means raven in Swedish, and there are plenty of ravens on the campus of the university EPFL in Switzerland, where a research group developed the robot.
Won Dong Shin is one of them. He has a doctorate in robotics and had one goal: To create an advanced robot that can both fly and walk. He began to observe the birds outside the window and study how their legs are constructed.
It became the inspiration to create a flying robot with legs similar to those of a bird.
– The advantage of the legs is that, unlike drones, the robotic bird can land on hard-to-reach terrain and get around by walking – just like a bird, explains Won Dong Shin.
Nature’s solutions
Imitating solutions in nature to try to fulfill human needs is called biomimetics. The field has become increasingly popular, especially in engineering.
The robot bird’s legs consist of a hip, foot and toe joint. It also has a propeller at the “beak”. Won Dong Shin describes that they considered every part they built carefully.
– A bird’s leg has more mobility than the robot leg has. But each addition meant an increase in weight and energy, so we had to choose.
The toe joint of the leg is an important component, as it allows the foot to gain a grip that allows it to make its way through more difficult terrain.
– Imagine wearing ski boots, which really lock your ankle and toes. Then it becomes very difficult to walk and even more difficult to jump forward. Therefore, we needed to provide that freedom of movement at the toes, explains Won Dong Shin.
Long way to the plane
Although the robotic legs are very exciting, it is difficult to imagine that they could be applied to a larger aircraft, according to Anders Hedenström, professor of evolutionary ecology at Lund University.
– Flight costs increase rapidly with increased weight. Large airplanes and birds like swans need a take-off distance to take off. Larger birds also use external energy, such as thermals from rising air, to glide. Therefore, larger birds and drones of this type probably cannot jump into the air in the same way.