Robotic model with real pigeon feathers can fly like a bird

Have you ever wondered why an airplane has a vertical tail? The plane needs it to stabilize its flight. Since flying without a vertical tail is much more energy efficient, the aviation industry has worked hard to achieve this – so far without much success. However, birds don’t need a vertical fin, which begs the question: how do they do it?

David Lentink, professor of biomimetics at the University of Groningen, developed a robotic bird model with real pigeon feathers to show how they do it. In earlier work, he found that birds continually adjusted the shape of their wings and tails. In his latest paper, he shows that his pigeon-like robot can replicate these movements.

The study is published in the journal Scientific robotics.

Fuel-efficient aircraft

An algorithm controls nine servo motors that move the feathers to continually change the shape of the wings and tail. The algorithm mimics the reflexes that birds use to stabilize themselves.

In 1929, German scientist Franz Groebbels proposed that this allowed birds to fly like “automatic airplanes.” Almost a century later, the robotic bird “PigeonBot II” confirmed his idea, as it was successfully tested in a wind tunnel and then flew autonomously in the open air.

In addition to showing how birds manage to fly without a vertical tail, Lentink paved the way for designing more fuel-efficient aircraft. “The European Airbus Group has created a concept visualizing what such an aircraft should look like. Our study provides the knowledge needed to turn their ideas into reality.”

Additionally, the new concept reduces an aircraft’s radar signature, which can improve jet fighter operations.