Cat-Like Whiskers Help Tiny Drones Fly in the Dark

Weighing less than a stick of butter, ultra-compact drones don’t have as much compute or power capacity as larger models, and this restricts the power of their sensors. That means if a building is filled with smoke or the disaster happens at night, the drone’s cameras and lidar will cease to function. Even a clear pane of glass can be an obstacle the drone might not sense.

Now, a research team at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands—drawing inspiration from the whiskers of nocturnal animals—has developed a lightweight, tactile sensor for drones to navigate even when they can’t “see.” Some nocturnal animals, like mice and to some extent cats, can explore their surroundings using just the sensations of the environment around them on their whiskers, enabling them to move without vision. The research team wondered whether drones could do the same.