---
title: "Scientists Made a Drone Fly Better Using Real Pigeon Feathers"
description: "Researchers have built a flying robot drone called PigeonBot that features real pigeon feathers in an effort to understand the kinetics of birds' flight."
date: "2020-01-16"
modified: "2020-01-16"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-drone-fly-real-feathers"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "bird"
  - "drone"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Made a Drone Fly Better Using Real Pigeon Feathers

![Researchers have built a flying robot drone called PigeonBot that features real pigeon feathers in an effort to understand the kinetics of birds' flight.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/scientists-pigeonbot-real-feathers-flying-robot.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Lentink Lab/Stanford University\</em\>*

## PigeonBot

Researchers at Stanford University have built a drone called PigeonBot, with wings coated in real pigeon feathers. And it flies so deftly, [*New Scientist* reports](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230401-a-robot-equipped-with-real-pigeon-feathers-flies-like-a-living-bird/>), that it could change the way aircraft are built in the future.

"We let go of the idea that you have to control every degree of freedom and I think future aircraft will benefit from this finding," David Lentink, lead author of [a paper](<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6475/293>) about the project published in the journal *Science* today, told *New Scientist*. "Future airplanes may not flap their wings, but I think they will change shape.

## Sharp Turns

The robot's artificial wings, covered in 40 pigeon feathers each, were constructed by connecting artificial "wrists" and "fingers" via synthetic elastic ligaments.

The researchers found that by changing the pitch of these artificial wrists and fingers, they could change the entire shape of the robot's wings, allowing it to make sharp turns in mid-air like a real bird.

## Directional Velcro

The team also discovered that tiny hooks can automatically lock the feathers together and stop them from spreading out too far apart — a mechanism that plays a critical role in the way the feathers move together.

These tiny structures could also inspire things like futuristic clasps on clothing or extra sticky bandages, [*NPR* reports](<https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796786350/pigeonbot-brings-robots-closer-to-bird-like-flight>).

**READ MORE:** [A robot equipped with real pigeon feathers flies like a living bird](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230401-a-robot-equipped-with-real-pigeon-feathers-flies-like-a-living-bird/>) \[*New Scientist*\]

**More on flying robots:** *[This Madman Built a Flying Robot Vacuum Cleaner](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/madman-built-flying-robot-vacuum-cleaner>)*

## 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>)