SKIRMISHER

The keywords here are “vertical take-off and landing” (VTOL), and these are the aircraft of the future. The videos provide an awesome glimpse into what you can expect in the years to come.

Robot helicopters and aeroplanes capable of perching on steep surfaces are being developed by two separate US researchers. They say such drone aircraft could land on moving vehicles, unsteady ships or even hide inside caves.

“Birds and bats can alight in all sorts of positions very well, but [normal] aircraft are limited to level surfaces,” says Eric Feron, an aerospace engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US, who is developing perching helicopters.

Feron’s small autonomous helicopters can land on surfaces inclined at up to 60°. In 2002, he developed an autonomous helicopter capable of performing other aerobatic moves, including the first 360° roll performed autonomously.

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