Whether you're talking about robot dogs, robot fish, or robot octopus arms, mimicking and adapting nature’s designs often leads to the best design. Industrial automation company Festo has learned this lesson well. It has designed robotic butterflies, kangaroos, ants, and now, a robotic flying bat:

The robot is officially called the Bionic Flying Fox. It features a lightweight frame, a custom membrane for the wings, and uses machine learning to fly semi-autonomously. The robot relies on a system of gears and motors to provide the flying power and steering. The wings themselves are made of two airtight films and a knitted elastane fabric, which is stitched together at more than 40,000 points, making these wings both lightweight and durable.

It’s unlikely this particular robot will ever see any commercial applications, but it’s a nice demonstration of the state of robotics at the moment. With just a few simple materials it’s possible to build a complex flying machine that successfully mimics a style of flight that took animals millions of years to evolve.

Source: Festo via Motherboard