If you’ve ever flown a drone, especially newbies, you know they crash. Fixed-wing drones, like airplanes, are fast and efficient but delicate when they hit trees or walls. The SWIFT drone, created at EPFL, takes inspiration from an unlikely source: the woodpecker. This bird, known for smashing its head into trees with no visible brain damage, inspired a drone that can withstand frontal impacts and keep flying. Built with tensegrity technology, the SWIFT is a game changer for anyone tired of picking up the pieces after a crash.
Woodpeckers are nature’s demolition experts because their skulls are designed to take the stress of repeated blows, thanks to a hard beak, a flexible hyoid bone that wraps around the skull, and a layer of spongy bone that cushions the brain. There’s also more space inside the skull which allows the brain to move slightly to prevent harm. Researchers at EPFL, led by Omar Aloui, noticed this and wondered: why not build a drone in the same way? The SWIFT—short for Shockproof Woodpecker-Inspired Flying Tensegrity—is a fixed-wing drone that can withstand impacts by mimicking the bird’s head.
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At first glance, the SWIFT looks like a standard fixed-wing drone, 980 mm long, 1,500 mm wide and 710 kg. But the fuselage tells a different story. Instead of a solid frame, it uses tensegrity structure where rigid parts are linked together by taut wires, giving strength and flexibility. Carbon fiber rods are the woodpecker’s beak, bent carbon fiber strips are the hyoid bone. Elastic cables are the spongy bone and the drone’s key components—electronics, motor and propeller—are suspended inside a carbon fiber “cranium” that can move up to 22 cm when hit. This system absorbs and redirects crash energy, protecting the drone’s critical parts.
Wings are another weak point for fixed-wing drones as a severe hit can break them or damage the fuselage connection. The SWIFT too gets its inspiration from birds. Woodpeckers and other birds have shoulder joints with prestressed connective tissue that absorbs impact. The SWIFT achieves this with a network of 12 elastic cables and carbon fiber rods that connect each wing to the body. This prevents the wings from shattering and protects the drone’s core. Tests show that its dual tensegrity mechanism reduces impact force by up to 70% compared to similarly sized commercial drones.
Building the SWIFT wasn’t easy because tensegrity structures require perfect tension and balance, and they are notoriously hard to design as well as manufacture. The EPFL researchers adjusted the drone’s components to have variable stiffness – firm enough to fly and flexible enough to crash. They tested it indoors at 8m/s, crashing it into objects to show its toughness. Outdoor tests followed to show it could handle real world chaos.
This drone isn’t just about surviving crashes; it’s about new possibilities. Fixed wing drones are fast and energy efficient but fragile so they can’t go everywhere. The SWIFT changes that, so it’s perfect for tight spaces or unpredictable environments – think dense forests, urban areas or disaster zones where obstacles are everywhere. Beginners can fly with less fear of breaking their drone, professionals get a drone that can take a beating and keep going.
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