Discoveries

May 09, 2023

Frankenstein’s Birds

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A research team is using a novel but odd method to understand how birds fly: They are creating drones out of taxidermy birds.

Lead researcher Mostafa Hassanalian and his team told LiveScience that their project seeks to better figure out the mechanics of avian flight and help monitor wildlife.

“We never hurt any birds while working on this project,” Hassanalian said. “We want to help nature, not hurt nature.”

Initially, the science team attempted to create these “bird drones” using artificial materials but the results weren’t the same. They explained that the artificial wings weren’t as efficient as real ones.

So they purchased real avian wings from online retailers, and whole birds from taxidermists.

The team then attached parts of the taxidermy birds to electric motors and tested their peculiar creations in a series of experiments.

Their findings offered some insights into bird flight and how they conserve energy, such as flying in V-shaped patterns. The researchers also found that when flying in flocks, birds in the middle section conserve their energy better than their counterparts in the front. As a result, the birds’ overall efficiency was enhanced by an impressive 44 percent.

Hassanalian suggested that the study results can be applied to the aviation industry and help with conserving energy and fuel.

But he also hopes that the Frankenstein-looking birds can also be used to monitor wildlife, because conventional non-bird drones tend to scare away the real thing.

“The biggest challenge we have now is that we don’t know how living birds will react,” he added.

This story originally appeared in the May 09, 2023 newsletter, The Wheels of Fortune.