---
title: "Drones’ Batteries Could Last Longer if They Could Perch Like Birds"
description: "Kaiyu Hang a roboticist at Yale University, came up with \"modular landing gears\" for drones that could allow them to fly way longer."
date: "2019-05-06"
modified: "2019-05-06"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/drone-claws-perch-birds"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "aerial robotics"
  - "drone"
  - "drones"
  - "the digest"
---

# Drones’ Batteries Could Last Longer if They Could Perch Like Birds

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/drone-claws-perch-birds.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Kaiyu Hang/Yale University/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Bird Drones

Drones aren't known for their lengthy flight times. Until we can figure out how to [wirelessly charge them](<https://futurism.com/drone-charging-mid-flight>) from the ground, their battery life will likely remain limited to less than an hour.

But by perching on the side of a building using bird-like claws, according to new research, drones could stay out far longer — since it'd require less energy than hovering in mid-air.

"Birds usually fly somewhere and they stay at the top of the roof or some tree branches," Kaiyu Hang, a roboticist who worked on the research at Yale University, [told *NPR*](<https://www.npr.org/2019/05/06/720096005/if-drones-had-claws-they-might-be-able-to-fly-for-longer>).

https://youtu.be/fQyUaikNwcE

## Perching and Resting

Hang and his colleagues came up with a bird-inspired design that act as the drone's "modularized landing gears," as he describes them in [his paper](<https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/28/eaau6637>), published in the journal *Science Robotics* in March. The claws are designed to extend and save battery power by allowing the drone to both perch and rest.

And the modular claws could have other benefits, too.

"If you perch, for example, underneath a bridge or underneath the eaves of a building you can ride out storms or bad weather that would make it hard to fly," Stanford University professor Mark Cutkosky told *NPR*.

**READ MORE:** [If Drones Had 'Claws,' They Might Be Able To Fly For Longer](<https://www.npr.org/2019/05/06/720096005/if-drones-had-claws-they-might-be-able-to-fly-for-longer>) \[*NPR*\]

**More on flight:** *[Russia Built a Battering Ram Drone to Knock Drones out of the Sky](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-battering-ram-drone>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)