Albatross flight inspires next generation of drones

Albatrosses have the largest wingspan of any living bird. But Eisa said it's how they use those wings that make them world-class flyers.

The birds tack into the wind like a sailboat to gain lift and altitude, finding faster air currents as they climb. When they eventually lose the forward momentum needed to stay in the air, they turn, harnessing the kinetic energy of gravity and wind that propels them forward. At the bottom of this glide path, sometimes mere inches off the water, they turn back into the wind and do it again — all without wasting a single wingbeat.

The birds are able to gauge wind speed and direction through their sensitive nostrils, allowing them to make fine flight adjustments to maximize each leg of upward and downward flight path.

“Nature has been optimizing flight for millions of years of evolution. So to take this gift from nature and make it available to humanity is engineering at its best,” Eisa said.

Featured image at top: UC engineering students in Assistant Professor Sameh Eisa's lab are developing drones that can harness the power of the wind like an albatross. Photo/Michael Miller