A multimode (flying/crawling) insect is being developed by Robert Michelson and his design team from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), University of Cambridge (England), and ETS Labs. The project has received initial IRAD funding from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mechanical insect, known as an “Entomopter” is based around a new development called a Reciprocating Chemical Muscle (RCM) which is capable of generating autonomic wing beating from a chemical energy source.
Fixed wing aerial Mars rovers would have to fly at over 250 MPH just to stay aloft in the rarefied Mars atmosphere. This makes landing on the rocky surface almost impossible, thereby precluding sample inspection/gathering. Also, the high speed flight means that dwell time on any particular area will be difficult-- a negative feature that is compounded by the fact that turns in the thin atmosphere will require enormous radii. An Entomopter, on the other hand achieves abnormally high lift with rapidly flapping wings, and therefore allows the fuselage to move slowly in relation to the ground.
Check out this video clip (It flutters around like a butterfly.)
For GT work on more conventional UAVs, see this.
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