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image | above
A tiny robot hummingbird prototype.

photo: Purdue Univ.

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— in this post —

~ story
~ videos
~ about
~ pages
~ reading

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image | above
A hummingbird in flight.

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— story —

A hummingbird is tiny bird with special maneuverability. It can fly like a bird and hover like an insect. If drones had this capability, they would be able to fly steadily through windy conditions, and get into tight spaces other drones can’t go.

The hummingbird’s body blueprint has been a focus of advanced robotics design projects over the years — several teams have attempted to build prototypes that capture nature’s capabilities. Engineer Xinyan Deng PhD and her group at Purdue University have created a bio-inspired hummingbird robot:

• trained by smart computer software called artificial intelligence
• weighing 12 grams
• using unsteady aero-dynamics to hover, like a real hummingbird

The software that controls the robot hummingbird follows a program with flight routines based-on actual techniques a real hummingbird uses naturally every day.

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image | above
A smaller robot hummingbird prototype.

photo: Purdue Univ.

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watch | video
A detailed look at the robot hummingbird.

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watch | video
Technical design for the robot hummingbird.

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about | the lab

‘‘Here at the lab we work in the field of bio-inspired robots — dedicated to the next generations of robotics that are inspired by nature. We use robotics theories + experiments to look at the locomotion of biological systems (animals such as: flying insects, birds, fish) to decode their secrets of high maneuverability, stability, and energy-efficient movement.

These discoveries help us develop next generation bio-inspired robots that can navigate in air, land, and sea. Such robots can be used for their better adaptivity plus performance robustness — compared to conventional robots — in confined, complex, and unstructured environment.’’

— Xinyan Deng PhD | principle investigator • Bio-Robotics Lab at Purdue University

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on the web | pages

Bio-Robotics Lab • Purdue Univ. | home
Bio-Robotics Lab • Purdue Univ. | Hummingbird robot using AI to go soon where drones can’t

Purdue Univ. | YouTube channels: all
Purdue Univ. | YouTube channel: engineering
Purdue Univ. | YouTube channel: mechanical engineering
Purdue Univ. | YouTube channel: Bio-Robotics Lab

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on the web | reading

Science Node | Fly like a bird, Hover like an insect
deck: Hummingbird inspired technology could go where drones can’t

Spectrum • by IEEE | Robot hummingbird is almost as agile as the real thing
deck: Purdue roboticists have built a bio-inspired micro air vehicle that flies much like a real hummingbird.

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— notes —

IEEE = Institute of Electrical + Electronics Engineers