Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in various situations, such as life
rescue, environmental exploration, and wireless communication, to avoid the safety risk of …

In this paper, we present a comprehensive and detailed review of dynamic soaring process,
and in particular, its application to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We start by explaining …

Measuring the costs of soaring, gliding and flapping flight in raptors is challenging, but
essential for understanding their ecology. Among raptors, vultures are scavengers that have …

For nearly a century Ludwig Prandtl's lifting-line theory remains a standard tool for
understanding and analyzing aircraft wings. The tool, said Prandtl, initially points to the …

Evolutionary biomechanics is the study of evolution through the analysis of biomechanical
systems. Its unique advantage is the precision with which physical constraints and …

Seabirds must often travel vast distances to exploit heterogeneously distributed oceanic
resources, but how routes and destinations of foraging trips are optimized remains poorly …

Ocean surface winds are an essential factor in understanding the physical interactions
between the atmosphere and the ocean. Surface winds measured by satellite …

Dynamic soaring is a small-scale flight manoeuvre which is the basis for the extreme flight
performance of albatrosses and other large seabirds to travel huge distances in sustained …

Large birds regularly use updrafts to subsidize flight. Although most research on soaring bird
flight has focused on use of thermal updrafts, there is evidence suggesting that many …

Lockable joints are widely used in robotic systems and adaptive structures for energy
management and/or topology reconfiguration. However, it is still challenging to design a …