The classical story of Icarus flying too close to the sun, having his wax wings melt after that before plunging to his death is a grim reminder that things do go wrong sometimes, and it would be good to have a failsafe introduced somewhere in the system. Well, Adam Klaptocz, a doctoral candidate in robots at the EPFL in Switzerland has decided to design a flying robot which is tough enough to continue flying even after it has crashed. Basically, he was inspired by a bee or housefly, where they would not find it too much of an issue to take to the skies once again despite bumping into things.
Klaptocz and his colleagues managed to construct a lightweight autonomous robot which boasts a carbon fiber cage that offers the necessary protection. This particular structure is light enough that it will not drag down the machine, and neither will it interfere with its center of gravity. Should it happen to bump into something, this is where the cage delivers the kind of protection that Klaptocz has been looking for. Seems to be the right robot for exploratory trips in unfamiliar places, especially areas that are claustrophobic in nature.
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