The ability of whooper swans to perform complex acrobatic maneuvers while still keeping their heads completely skill has inspired a team of researchers from Stanford University to analyze the mechanics of their necks and use that information to improve drone camera stability.
David Lentink, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford, used high-speed video footage and computer models to discover that these swans use a complex neck structure similar in nature to a car suspension to keep their heads stabilized. These findings helped them design a new, steadier camera suspension system for use on drones.
As the study authors report in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, swans and other types of birds can improve their vision by stabilizing their head position relative to their surroundings, while their bodies move up and down as they flap their wings in flight. While scientists have studied the neck morphology of stationary birds, this marks the first time that any were able to analyze these mechanics while the birds were actually in flight.
To do so, Lentink’s team compared high-speed footage of a whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) as it flew over a lake with computer simulations approximating the linear mass-spring-damper system that allowed the bird’s neck to remain stable during vertical disturbances. They found that, like a car suspension, the neck vertebrae and muscles respond to bumpy flights with enough flexibility and stiffness to passively keep the head steady while the wings flap.
New UAV camera suspension systems in the works
“This simple mechanism is a remarkable finding considering the daunting complexity of avian neck morphology with about 20 vertebrae and more than 200 muscles on each side,” explained Lentink, who said that former master’s student Ashley Pete was the one who developed the idea and methodology for the research while studying the biomechanics of flight.
“The paper she wrote for this class was so good that we expanded it together and submitted it to Interface, where it got published. This really shows students can make remarkable discoveries in the classroom, going beyond textbooks, based on their creativity and enthusiasm,” the professor said in a statement.
Lentink’s laboratory conducts research involving biology and engineering, with the hope they will be able to improve the design and performance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using various traits found in flying birds. This latest paper has given them the blueprint for new, swan-inspired passive camera suspension systems that will allow drones with flapping wings to record higher-quality video.
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Feature image: Thinkstock
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