In case drones weren't insect-like enough, students at Stanford have created one that can stick to walls and ceilings like a spider.
To perch on a vertical surface, the quadcopter drone flies gently into a wall and using a tail, pitches up on its side. Two groups of opposed microspines, or rough patches, then pull in opposite directions to grip the wall. To sit on the ceiling, the drone can fly directly up and use the microspines to catch hold in the same fashion.
While the microspines are able to latch onto tiny bumps and holes, it's not as reliable on smooth surfaces like polished concrete, Morgan Pope, a student involved with the research, noted in IEEE Spectrum. Wind could also pose a problem.
Many off-the-shelf drones still have very limited flight time, so adding the microspines mechanism could allow them to sit and take video recordings without using up too much battery life, Pope suggested. It's still early days, but with similar developments, drones could soon be all-terrain vehicles.
