Researchers at the MIT develop new theory controlling avian flight

Jan 23, 2012 12:53 GMT  ·  By

Even the northern goshawk must observe a theoretical speed limit, experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) argue in a new paper. They say that the bird is one of the most adapt creatures on the planet at low-altitude flying through massive numbers of obstacles.

As you'll see in the video embedded below, the bird can pretty much fly through any type of environment, including thick forests. Its collision-avoidance abilities would make any top-notch fighter pilot jealous, as would its extremely sharp reflexes.

Scientists agree that not a single aircraft we've ever built comes anywhere close to the flight maneuverability this bird displays. One of the things that makes it capable of flying in this manner is the fact that it is constantly adjusting its flight path and wing span.

But, even as it's flying through the thick underbrush, the bird cannot exceed a certain speed limitation without fear of collision. The same holds true for anything flying through cluttered environments, airplanes included.

The MIT group hopes that this type of study will help engineers design more efficient airplanes, as well as safer Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The latter may soon become able to fly through canyons, cities and other clustered, cluttered areas that are currently forbidden.

What the research suggests is that, beyond a certain speed, the risk of mid-flight collisions goes through the roof, regardless of how much data the flying object or thing has on its environment. This theoretical limitation may exist throughout nature.

Details of the research efforts will be presented at the upcoming IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation. The investigations team was led by MIT associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics Emilio Frazzoli.

The team he's a part of also included Harvard University biologists and robotics experts at MIT. Frazzoli is handling the mathematical aspects of creating bird-like UAV that emulate the abilities of goshawks and other, similarly-efficient birds.

The team now believes that the goshawk is not seeing its path as it's flying. Rather, it makes a calculation based on the density of the forest. This leads it to believe that it will always find an opening through the trees.

“If I can only see up to five meters, I can only go up to a speed that allows me to stop within five meters. Which is not very fast,” Frazzoli. If the goshawk were flying in a manner that implied safety, then it wouldn't be traveling at the speeds it does.

“When you go skiing off the path, you don’t ski in a way that you can always stop before the first tree you see. You ski and you see an opening, and then you trust that once you go there, you’ll be able to see another opening and keep going,” the MIT expert adds.