As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Bird brains may help drones fly and avoid crashing

5 November 2014

By Mandyam Srinivasan, The University of Queensland and Ingo Schiffner, The University of Queensland

Imagine a sky full of autonomous flying machines delivering anything from fast-food to important documents, medical supplies or just a surprise gift for someone special. How do you stop them all colliding with each other and any other obstacles on their journey?

Google has been experimenting with such delivery methods with test flights this year in Queensland’s Darling Downs. The online store Amazon is lobbying the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to continue testing its Prime Air autonomous flying machines to deliver packages to customers within 30 minutes.

If all the testing proves a success it won’t be long before these autonomous aircraft take to the skies. So for lessons in how to fly, why not look to nature for some guidance solutions?

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