in China they explore an alternative inspired by nature

For years we have associated drones with a very specific image: unmanned devices with several propellers rotating at full speed, capable of recording, monitoring or even form figures in the sky at mass events. It is the reference that we have internalized and the one that usually comes to mind when we think about these devices. However, it is not the only possible way to understand a drone. While this model has been consolidated, proposals have emerged that seek to replicate the flight of living beings instead of depending on rotors, opening a path that until recently seemed closer to fiction than to real engineering.

Drones with wings. According to 163.coma team from Beijing University of Science and Technology has developed several flapping-wing drones inspired by animals such as eagles, pigeons, butterflies and beetles. Among them, the model based on an eagle has attracted special attention for one specific fact: it has reached 256 minutes of continuous flight, a figure that marks a record within this category. The chain itself also recalled that in 2023 a bionic airplane developed by researchers at the Northwest Polytechnic University of China recorded 185 minutes and 30 seconds, then a Guinness record in this area.

Another way to fly. If these prototypes are attracting attention, it is not only because of their appearance, but because of the technical principle on which they are based. Global Times defines them as bionic unmanned aerial vehicles capable of imitating the flight of living beings by flapping their wings. According to the same medium, it is the type of drone that most closely approximates the flight of flying organisms in nature. Added to this base, in the model inspired by an eagle, is a visual system designed to recognize, locate and follow vehicles, people, buildings or license plates, as explained by researcher Wu Xiaoyang.

What we do know. It is advisable to separate what is confirmed from what has been interpreted from these images. Information disseminated by Chinese state media describes these drones as an advance in research into bionic unmanned systems, with progress in flight time and detection capabilities. However, it does not offer details about its operational deployment or specific use in real scenarios. In fact, researchers point out that challenges related to flight autonomy and system intelligence still need to be resolved before talking about broader implementation.

There are obstacles. If we look beyond the current results, the experts themselves point out that the road ahead remains demanding. According to Wang Zhijie, from the Beijing Institute of Technology, one of the main challenges is developing batteries with greater energy density that allow this type of flight to be sustained for longer. Added to this are high-precision, small-sized beating mechanisms, as well as materials capable of adaptive deformation, imitating how bird wings change in response to aerodynamics to maintain efficiency.

In that context, what we have is a technology that points in several directions, but is still being defined. Global Times possible uses in environmental monitoring, rescue and other specialized missions, although without specifying how or when they will materialize. Beyond that, research remains focused on making these systems more autonomous and efficient. If this evolution is confirmed, we would be facing a different path in the development of drones, one that seeks to get closer to biological flight instead of continuing to perfect the more conventional scheme.

Images | CCTV

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