Wings on Mars

Kakkattukuzhy M. Isaac, professor of Aerospace Engineering at University of Missouri-Rolla, is working on creating a flapping, gliding robot that could someday explore Mars. NASA is already thinking of putting complex robots on Mars to explore -- some of those are modeled after insects -- there is even an insect-sized flying robot already built. Isaac however is working on something a little bigger -- something the size of an eagle perhaps. The big barrier with a flapping robot is weight and energy. The gears and energy needed to power the gears are a problem. Isaac idea however is to use artificial muscles, made of plastics with the ability to flex when an electric charge is introduced, as well as change shape to glide more efficiently -- doing away with heavy gears. The robot would be powered by the Sun, taking the energy problem away. Thus far, only the wings have funding -- but if successful, the rest of the robot could be funded as well.