Tiny Drones Team Up to Open Doors



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Still image from a video showing the drones collaborating to open a door.
Image: Laboratory of Intelligent Systems / EPFL

In a move inspired by natural engineering, robotics researchers have demonstrated how tiny palm-size drones can forcefully tug objects 40 times their own mass by anchoring themselves to the ground or to walls. It's a glimpse into how small drones could more actively manipulate their environment in a way similar to humans or larger robots.

"Says Matt Estrada, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. "We demonstrated opening a door, but this approach could be extended to a ball valve, moving a piece of debris, or retrieving an object of interest from a disaster zone.