Scientists in the US have developed an extremely flexible flying robot, inspired by bats.
It is hoped that as it develops, the mechanical flying mammal could one day be used for disaster rescue, construction work, personal assistance and other problem solving.
Current flying robots rely on spinning rotor blades or up and down flapping motion in order to lift and propel themselves, limiting their level of movement.
But the "Bat Bot" device is exceptionally agile because it is based on the mechanisms of bat flight.
Bats have more than 40 joints on their wings, which gives them a level so flexibility in flight without parallel in nature.
They can also move each wing separately in an asymmetric manner.
This unusual movement has been captured by the researchers at the University of Illinois and Caltech in their creation.
They established that the most important part of a bat wing's stroke is the shoulder, elbow and wrist bend, as well as the side to side tail swish.
Using lightweight carbon-fibre bones, 3D printed ball-and-socket structures, and micromotors, they built a 93-gram skeleton for the Bat-Bot.
It was then covered in a soft but strong silicone skin.
The bot has undergone flight tests which have shown it to perform well.
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