Tiny Whiteflies Provide Insight into Stabilizing Manmade Drones During Takeoff

When whiteflies take off, they don't just spread their wings and fly. Just .03 of an inch long, these tiny insects possess a variety of sophisticated techniques that provide them with exceptional stability in the air. Tel Aviv University researchers now say that they may hold the secret to stabilizing the take-off of small robotic manmade flyers such as miniaturized drones.

TAU research presented at a recent Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities conference explores how whiteflies, which belong to the order of insects called Hemiptera, successfully take off without flapping their wings, which are 28% longer than their bodies. They raise only their wingtips to provide air resistance and stabilize. The presentation was based on new research following an earlier study published by the Journal of Experimental Biology.

"Whiteflies take a powerful 'jump' before they start using their wings in flight," said Dr. Gal Ribak of TAU's Department of Zoology, who led the research. "Then, when the insects are moving through the air, they have to stop the rotation of their bodies to reorient themselves for flapping flight. They are able to do that by extending the tips of their folded wings, causing high air resistance behind the body. This aerodynamic force stabilizes the take-off and only then do the insects spread their wings and start flying.

"What is noteworthy here is the response time," Dr. Ribak said. "All this takes less than 12 milliseconds, and it doesn't require feedback from the nervous system. Nature is providing us with guidance on how to stabilize the take-off of small robotic manmade flyers."

Read more at American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Photo credit: gaucho via Wikimedia Commons