A team of scientists at New Mexico Tech is taking birds that have been preserved through taxidermy and converting them into drones in order to study flight.
The taxidermy bird drones are reportedly being tested in a purpose-built cage at the university in Socorro, New Mexico. Ideally, these drones can be used to understand better the formation and flight patterns of flocks, according to researchers.
The project is being headed by New Mexico Tech Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Mostafa Hassanalian who also sees potential application to the aviation industry. "If we learn how these birds manage ... energy between themselves, we can apply (that) into the future aviation industry to save more energy and save more fuel," he said recently.
Brenden Herkenhoff, a Ph.D. student at New Mexico Tech, is part of the research team. He focuses primarily on coloration and flight efficiency. "We've done experiments and determined that for our fixed-wing aircraft, applying certain colors can change the flight efficiency. And the same is true for birds, we believe," Herkenhoff said.
Hassanalian turned to drones after artificial, mechanical birds had not delivered positive results. “We came up with this idea that we can use ... dead birds and make them (into) a drone," he said. "Everything is there ... we do reverse engineering."
He said there are more than 200 applications for drones like using the technology to monitor and learn about wildlife instead of using a drone or helicopter which can scare and scatter the animals.
It’s unclear how real birds will react. They have yet to introduce bio-drones into wildlife due to different policies surrounding the issue. Right now, researchers use batteries to fly drones. The current taxidermy bird prototype flies for a maximum of only 20 minutes. They are trying to develop drones so they can land in trees and recharge, per KRQE.
Turning the carcasses and feathers of birds into a disguised drone would be a vital resource if it works out.
“We want to help nature,” Hassanalian said. “We don’t want to hurt nature. We are developing this technology to have safe and nature-friendly drones.”
Hassanalian said he’s aware that some people equate this technology with military or surveillance applications. He insisted that has not been a focus of New Mexico Tech’s research.“Our main area of application for this is a civil application,” Hassanalian said. “I cannot deny none of those [defense] applications but we have been, as I said, more civil side of these drones,” mentioning inspection and monitoring applications.