If you thought drones were the coolest things around, think again, as what is being touted as a "drone killer" has just been announced.

And its a Bat! A robotic one at that! 

According to researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and California Technical University, smaller fixed-wing drones have problems with maneuverability and four rotors are not efficient, and now they have unveiled a robotic bat with soft, articulated wings which can mimic the key flight patterns of biological bats, which they say, may be key to unlocking how drones will operate in the future.
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<center>https://i.imgsafe.org/ac47a22fd5.png</center>
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<center>**The Prototype of the bat bot** [[Photo Source]](http://www.wetalkuav.com/bat-bot-engineering-art/)</center>
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The flight itself seems realistic as the bat robot flaps its wings for better aerial maneuvers, glides to save energy and dive bombs when needed, just like a real bat would do!

And if the researchers are to be believed, these robotic bats do a better and safer job getting into disaster sites and scoping out construction zones than bulky drones with spinning rotors, a situation I cannot comprehend at the moment. But according to their research, bats have one of the most sophisticated powered flight mechanisms among animals with more than 40 types of joints that interlock the bones and muscles to one another, creating a musculoskeletal system that can change shape and is capable of movement in multiple independent directions.
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# Please also check this video: Advanced Robotic Bat Can Fly Like the Real Thing
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfwX6X4Nx20
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<center>**Sources for the post**</center>
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1. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/The-bat-like-drone/article17244096.ece
2. http://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/8088/video-watch-a-bat-bot-mimic-the-flight-performance-of-biological-bats
3. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a25002/behold-bat-bot/
4. http://www.wetalkuav.com/bat-bot-engineering-art/
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