Nimble Drone With Retractable ‘Cat Claws’ Repeatedly Lands on Steep Icelandic Icebergs

Researchers at Université de Sherbrooke’s Createk Design Lab in Quebec, Canada, equipped their Ice Dart drone with passively retractable spines inspired by cat claws, dissipative landing gear, and reverse thrust. They put the drone through field trials in Iceland, where it completed 24 successful landings on icebergs and glacier ice at slopes up to 58°.

We demonstrate a new landing technology comprised of custom, lightweight disk brakes, rapid thrust reversal at impact and bio-inspired retractable spines in the feet to enable drones to safely land on ice slopes inclined at up to 60°.

This breakthrough opens the door to reliable drone landings and operations in real-world icy conditions.

DART Landing on High-Speed Truck

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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