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Learning more about pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that lived more than 200 million years ago, could help design more efficient drones, according to scientists.
Paleontologists looking at the fossils of the largest animals that have flown believe that prehistoric creatures may have solutions to drone flight problems, such as air stability and self-launch ability.
Dr. Liz Martin-Silverstone, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol and first author of the review published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, said: “There are many really interesting things in the fossil record that are not explored because engineers generally No Don’t look at paleontology when you think about inspiration for flight.
“If we just look to modern animals for inspiration, we’re really missing a lot of the morphology and ignoring a lot of options that I think might be useful.”
Today, something like a drone requires a flat surface to launch from and is quite restricted in how it rises in midair. Pterosaurs’ unique launch physiology could help solve some of these problems
While engineers have focused primarily on the physiology of modern birds and insects when designing drones and aircraft, Dr. Martin-Silverstone believes that fossils of pterosaurs that provide information on the anatomy of their wings may have clues. to design more efficient aircraft.
Most modern birds launch into the air via a jump or jump, known as a ballistic launch, while the larger varieties require a career start to gain enough momentum for takeoff.
But paleontologists believe that pterosaurs may have been able to launch themselves from a stationary position despite weighing more than 660 lbs (nearly 300 kg), possibly due to the combined effort of the wing membrane and the robust muscle connections on their wings.
They hypothesize that the pterosaurs’ single-wing structure allowed them to generate “a high-powered jump from their elbows and wrists, giving them enough height to fly.”
Dr. Martin-Silverstone said: “Today, something like a drone requires a flat surface to launch from and is quite restricted in how it rises in midair.
“The unique launch physiology of pterosaurs could help solve some of these problems.”
The recently discovered Yi qi dinosaur had wings made of a bat-like membrane and feathers (Emily Willoughby / Trends in Ecology and Evolution / PA)Pterosaurs can also provide information on how to prevent instability of flight once airborne, the researchers said.
Dr. Martin-Silverstone added: “So far we have struggled to design things like flight suits that can withstand the pressures of flight.
“If we can understand how pterosaurs did it, for example by understanding how their wing membrane was structured, then that’s something we can use to answer modern engineering questions.”
In addition to pterosaurs, there were other prehistoric frills with a unique wing structure, such as Microraptor, that had feathered wings on their arms and legs.
And the recently discovered Yi qi dinosaur had wings that combined feathers with a bat-like membrane.
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