Nature inspired: Drones taking a lesson from bats
It turns out big-eared bats get lift from their ears! ...and there is something more subtle about pausing on the upstroke. The picture they use is behind the point, but here's a quote:
Quote:
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The experiments were conducted in a wind tunnel in which trained bats flew through thin smoke to reach a stick with food on it. Meanwhile the researchers aimed a laser beam at the smoke behind the bats and took pictures of the illuminated smoke particles. The researchers then measured how the smoke moved to calculate the forces generated by each beat of the bats' wings.
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Pics or it didn't happen.