Brown researchers say bats, not bees, provide best MAV inspiration

It has been an interesting few weeks for the micro air vehicles (MAVs). First we reported that Israeli and American researchers were hard at work developing the inches-long machines. Then we reported on research being conducted at the University of Bath that showed how the wing structure of bees and other insects might provide a structural model for MAV development. Now we can report on a rival hypothesis: that it is bats, not bees, that provide the most insight into the Talibanators of the future.

The question is one of lift: how can a small animal or machine generate enough of it to stay afloat? In the case of bees, it was a question of a flexible wing structure that creates vortices of air. Bats, however, offer a slightly different lesson. According to researchers at Brown University, bats — whose wings are made of bones and elastic membranes — have a flying downstroke similar to that of birds, but “more sweeping and billowing,” but the upstroke is entirely different.

“The bat almost completely collapses its wings,” said professor Kenneth Breuer, noting that the stretchy skin of the bat also deforms in ways that provide extended lift at high angles of attack — a method, he says, which may reduce drag. “It’s pretty clear the bats are taking advantage of these stretchy, flexible wings.”

The researchers now intend to use high-resolution cameras provided by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research to further study the aerodynamics of bats. “The knowledge of the aerodynamics in that size range is very limited,” said Geoffrey Spedding of the University of Southern California. “Here’s a system that works so it’s a good idea to take a look at it.”

-read more in Aria Pearson’s New Scientist report