The idea of attaching a camera to a drone is nothing new. However getting stable footage from a camera attached to a drone is a different story. Usually the resulting footage isn’t particularly stable due to movement from the drone, along with the vibrations, wind, and so on. Now thanks to a study by Stanford engineers, future drone cameras could be a lot more stable.

How is this possible, you ask? Through the study of swans. If you’ve ever seen swans take flight before, you’ll realize that despite the exaggerated body motions and flapping of wings, their necks remain relatively still and stable. By attempting to understand this process, the result is a more superior stabilization system.

According to the study, “They found that the neck functions much like how a car’s suspension system provides a smooth ride over a bumpy road. The neck vertebrae and muscles respond with just the right stiffness and flexibility to passively keep the head steady during flapping flight, and even in mild gusts.”

That being said, there are drone makers who have offered up some kind of stabilization with their cameras, so this would not be a first. However if anything, this could improve upon existing designs to make future images and videos a lot more smoother and stable. In the meantime you can check out the videos above to get an idea of what the Stanford engineers are working on.

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