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Flying Like Birds, Hugging Like Geckos: Swiss Scientists Invent Drones That Perch on Trees and Poles

Imagine a drone that doesn’t just fly—but can also land on a tree or pole like a bird, wrap its wings around the surface like a gecko, and stay there without any human help. Sounds futuristic? Not anymore. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a lightweight drone named PercHug that does exactly that.

This new drone can glide through the air and then “crash-land” into vertical poles or trees, hugging them tightly to perch. It is a big step forward in making drones more useful, especially in tough environments where humans find it hard to reach.

Flying Like Birds, Hugging Like Geckos: Swiss Scientists Invent Drones That Perch on Trees and Poles

1. What Makes PercHug Special?

PercHug is not just a regular drone. It has special features that help it attach to vertical surfaces. Some of these key parts are:

  • An upturned nose: Helps the drone reorient from horizontal to vertical flight.

  • Foldable wings with hooks: These act like arms to wrap around the tree or pole.

  • Unlatching mechanism and bistable trigger: Helps the wings fold and lock at the right time.

  • Reinforced tail: Adds balance and support during and after perching.

This hugging-wing design is inspired by how geckos grab onto surfaces. It uses passive wing morphing, meaning it doesn’t need motors or complex electronics to change its shape. It just reacts naturally to the collision with the pole or tree.

2. Why Is This Important?

Today’s drones are great at flying but struggle to land or rest on uneven or vertical surfaces. Birds can easily perch on branches or wires, but drones usually need flat land or a landing pad.

This limits their use in many important tasks like:

  • Inspecting tall buildings or communication towers

  • Monitoring wildlife in forests

  • Surveillance from streetlights or lamp posts

  • Recharging batteries without landing far away

Instead of using cranes, scaffolding, or risking human safety, drones like PercHug can make the job safer, faster, and cheaper.

3. The Inspiration: Nature and Its Smart Designs

The design of PercHug was inspired by geckos and birds. Geckos can cling to vertical walls using tiny hooks in their feet. Birds, on the other hand, are experts at perching using their wings and feet.

By combining these natural ideas, the researchers designed a drone that:

  • Flies like a bird

  • Reorients its body like a gymnast

  • Wraps around surfaces like a gecko

This bio-inspired design reduces the need for extra machinery or sensors, keeping the drone light and efficient.

4. How PercHug Works: A 4-Step Process

The team at EPFL designed the perching process in four simple steps:

  1. Glide: The drone flies towards the target, such as a tree trunk.

  2. Reorient: On impact, the upturned nose causes the drone to turn from horizontal to vertical.

  3. Wrap: Its wings fold and wrap around the pole using small hooks.

  4. Perch: The drone stays in place, held firmly by its design and the friction between the hooks and surface.

This whole process happens quickly and passively—meaning the drone doesn’t need active control once it hits the surface.

5. Testing the Design: Trials with Trees

The researchers tested PercHug by launching it at six different trees. Some tests were done with a flexible (elastic) nose, and others with a standard rigid nose. Here’s what they found:

  • Success rate: The standard nose achieved a 73% success rate, while the elastic one had only 42%.

  • Reason: While the elastic nose helped in reorienting, it also created a gap that made it harder to grip the surface.

  • Speed and angles: The drone perched best when hitting the tree at speeds of 3–5 meters per second and at angles greater than 15 degrees.

  • Tree size: Wider trees were harder to grip, showing that surface size and friction matter for success.

These experiments showed that small design choices—like the shape of the nose—can make a big difference in whether the drone perches or falls.

6. Why Current Solutions Don’t Work Well

Before PercHug, other perching drone designs used:

  • Claws or arms: Mechanically wrap around the pole, but add weight and complexity.

  • Adhesive pads: Stick to surfaces, but depend on surface cleanliness and texture.

  • Microspines: Work only on rough surfaces and can break easily.

Many of these methods require precise control or extra energy, which limits battery life and increases costs. In contrast, PercHug uses a simple, passive design that doesn’t rely on surface condition or complex mechanics.

7. Potential Real-World Uses

This kind of drone can be a game-changer in many areas:

a) Infrastructure Inspection

Inspecting towers, bridges, and tall buildings is risky and costly. PercHug can perch and observe for long periods, reducing the need for scaffolding or helicopters.

b) Environmental Monitoring

PercHug can sit quietly on a tree and record wildlife behavior without disturbing animals. It can also monitor air quality, temperature, and humidity in hard-to-reach forest canopies.

c) Urban Surveillance

In cities, drones can perch on streetlights or poles to keep an eye on traffic or public safety without constantly flying and wasting battery.

d) Search and Rescue

In disaster zones, PercHug can perch and observe an area for survivors, guiding rescue teams without risking human lives.

e) Battery Saving and Charging

By perching, drones can pause missions, save battery, and even recharge if solar panels or charging spots are installed.

8. The Bigger Picture: A Future with Smart, Perching Robots

This invention could lead to a new generation of flying robots that are not just flying machines—but adaptable, intelligent, and efficient systems. These drones could live in urban environments, forests, or industrial sites, always ready to take off, perch, or observe.

The EPFL team hopes that PercHug will become the starting point for more advanced designs in the future. Their goal is to build robots that:

  • Need fewer resources

  • Are more flexible and safe

  • Can be used in many different industries

9. What’s Next for PercHug and Perching Drones?

The next steps may include:

  • Improving grip: Adding better hook materials or more flexible wings

  • Automated targeting: Using cameras or sensors to aim at the best perch spots

  • Battery systems: Including solar charging panels for long-term missions

  • Miniaturization: Making smaller versions for lightweight tasks or stealth missions

The team’s work, published in the journal Nature, is already attracting global attention. Their work proves that the key to future technology might just lie in studying nature more closely.

Conclusion:

PercHug is a powerful example of how nature can inspire smarter machines. By mimicking geckos and birds, Swiss researchers have created a drone that doesn’t just fly—it perches, hugs, and stays.

This innovation is more than just cool technology. It offers practical solutions to real-world problems, from safer inspections to better wildlife monitoring. As research continues, we may soon see these hugging drones in forests, cities, and beyond—working silently, efficiently, and smartly.

Reference: Askari, M., Benciolini, M., Phan, HV. et al. Crash-perching on vertical poles with a hugging-wing robot. Commun Eng 3, 98 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-024-00241-0

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