A mini helicopter modeled on flying tree seeds could soon…

A mini helicopter modeled on flying tree seeds could soon be flying overhead. Evan Ulrich and colleagues at the University of Maryland in College Park 1 the biological world for inspiration to build a scaled-down helicopter that could mimic the properties of full-size aircraft. The complex 2 of full-size helicopters gets less efficient when shrunk, 3 that standard mini helicopters expend most of their power simply fighting to stay stable in the air. The researchers realized that a simpler aircraft designed to stay stable passively would use much less power and reduce manufacturing costs to boot. It turns 4 that nature 5 them to it. The seeds of trees such as the maple have a single-blade structure that allows them to fly far away and drift safely to the ground. These seeds, known as samaras, need no engine to 6 through the air, thanks to a process called autorotation.