Tiny muscles help bats fine-tune flight, stiffen wing skin

Bats appear to use a network of hair-thin muscles in their wing skin to control the stiffness and shape of their wings as they fly, according to a new study. The finding provides new insight about the aerodynamic fine-tuning ...

Crickethair sensor is 'highlight' of bio-inspired technology

One of the top ten highlights of the past year, in terms of technology that is inspired by nature. That was how the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics described a paper by researchers from the University of Twente's MESA+ ...

Snake scales protect steel against friction

A snake moves without legs by the scales on its belly gripping the ground. It generates friction at the points needed to move forwards only and prevents its scales from being worn off by too much friction. Researchers of ...

Porous material holds promise for prosthetics, robots

Cornell researchers have developed a new lightweight and stretchable material with the consistency of memory foam that has potential for use in prosthetic body parts, artificial organs and soft robotics. The foam is unique ...

Bio-inspired eye stabilizes robot's flight

Biorobotics researchers at the Institut des Sciences du Mouvement - Etienne-Jules Marey (CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université) have developed the first aerial robot able to fly over uneven terrain that is stabilized visually without ...

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