Bird-inspired drone uses touch to land on branches with 99% success

Researchers at TU Delft built a drone with three flexible three-phalange fingers that use tactile sensors instead of cameras to locate a branch. The system achieved a landing success rate above 99%, even when its visual estimate was off by up to 60 cm.

• Three flexible fingers with three phalanges and nine tactile sensors
• Landing success rate above 99% despite 60 cm visual error
• Springs in the fingers hold the branch without extra energy
• Study published in the journal Nature npj Robotics