Researchers Build Robot Inspired by Vampire Bats
Posted on January 26, 2015
Researchers have built a robot that is inspired by the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. The robot can fly and walk using its foldable wings. The robot, called DALER, was developed by a research team from LIS, EPFL and NCCR Robotics. DALER stands for Deployable Air-Land Exploration Robot.
The foldable wings are covered with a soft fabric material. The researchers call them whegs since they can be used as both wings and legs. Wingerons on the edge of the whegs help with flight control and with ground locomotion. The wingerons rotate when the robot is in walking mode.
As is the case with many robots this one was created with rescuing humans in mind. The researchers say in a statement, "The DALER can be remotely deployed to fly to an affected area, and then can walk through a disaster zone (e.g. a damaged building) to locate victims, meaning that human rescue teams can concentrate their efforts where they are needed, rather than using time to search for victims in a dangerous environment."
The robot is also somewhat shockproof. Researchers can be seen hitting the robot's wings with a hammer and the wings withstand the blows. The video shows the robot both flying and walking. Take a look: