The shell is a mushroom while the circuits are silver

Dec 9, 2014 13:46 GMT  ·  By

Drones are hardly a secret at this point, being used so very often and for so many things that you might even have seen one flying around your neighborhood. If not there, then in a YouTube video. The newest type of drone will probably leave you gawking regardless though.

The most common type of aerial drones, which are within the budget of normal people at least, are quadcopters. Those little things with four propellers held together by a central body.

The new drone that a team of undergraduate researchers from Stanford University came up with could be a quadcopter or a tri-propeller, airplane-like model.

The shape ultimately isn't the important part in their project. What's important is the materials they have in mind: biological tissues.

The bio-drone that can grow itself and decompose in the wild

Ian Hull, a sophomore at Stanford University, as well as other students from Brown, Spelman, and Stanford, have developed a very special flying aerial device.

This bio-drone has an exterior made of mycelium, a mushroom-like material, as well as cellulose coated with the same protein used to make wasp nests waterproof.

Thanks to these intriguing solutions found in nature, the drone is fully biodegradable, though that's not the most important thing.

Before we get to that part, however, let's look at the insides of the drone. The designers thought up a circuit board printed with silver.

There is also a motor (one of the few things that aren't biodegradable) and a few other components that need to be added, but other than that, everything can decompose in nature.

Most relevant, however, is the ultimate vision that this bio-drone could grow itself, build itself from biological materials in remote locations. Like a real plant or mushroom.

How the drone would work

Say a drone is piloted remotely and lost in a remote location, or an otherwise troublesome place like a coral reef. The bio-drone will decompose and leave behind a lump of sugar, as well as the little motor. The environmental impact would be much lower than normal, especially if the material is rigged to self-destruct too.

It would also make it easier and safer to sacrifice a drone like, say, if you send it to survey a site at risk of nuclear meltdown.

More importantly, the mushroom-like material could build itself from any natural area with reasonable humidity, and is very well suited for flying as well, being so very light and nonetheless strong.

"The problem with trying to bring anything to space is it's expensive to take mass up there, and you want anything you bring to be easily modified," says Hull. "Instead of taking parts and backups, you can just take a tiny sample of the bacteria or fungus you need to grow something like this drone."

Bio-engineered sensors can further reduce the weight and need for electrical power, while bio-engineered cells (based on organisms living in extreme environments) can increase endurance.

Unfortunately, there's no ETA for when this drone will be made real, or any assurance that it will ever be, despite the promise and novelty. We only know about it because it was an entry at the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition.

The bio-drone (4 Images)

The bio-drone concept
The bio-drone, quadcopter formThe bio-drone parts
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