article_snippet: The robotic wings are made using carbon fibre and, similar to the wing of a bird, each have a wrist joint custom built using a 3D printer .
article_snippet: Inspired by the way bats and birds avoid colliding in mid-air, roboticists have created flying drones with The robotic wings.
article_snippet: The robotic wings are made using carbon fibre and, similar to the wing of a bird, each have a wrist joint custom built using a 3D printer.
article_snippet: These joints are hinged in such a way so that as the rest of the wing flaps, the hand can freely fold and unfold over the arm, much like origami folding, without any actuation.
article_snippet: In particular the pin joint connects the arm wing and the hand wing.
article_snippet: The arm wing attaches to the body of the robot at the shoulder joint, which initiates the flapping.
article_snippet: And the complete wing set has a wingspan of 15.7 inches (40cm) with a length, or chord, of three inches (80 mm).
article_snippet: In addition to morphing shape to avoid collisions, the mechanism could also allow future flying robots to easily squeeze between obstacles, such as branches of a tree, and fully recover after accidental hard impacts.