Bird-Inspired Robot Leaps and Flies with Multifunctional Legs

Researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of California have developed a bird-like robot named RAVEN that can launch itself into flight using spring-like legs, inspired by the way crows use their legs to jump into the air. This design allows the robot to achieve multimodal locomotion, combining walking, hopping, and flying, and could offer a new approach for unmanned aerial vehicles. The innovation is detailed in a paper published in Nature.