Albatross flight inspires a new generation of drones

The albatross is one of the largest flying birds on Earth, with wings that stretch up to 11 feet across. It spends most of its life in the air, gliding over open ocean with barely a wingbeat. That’s not just impressive – it’s efficient. And now, researchers want to learn from it.

At the University of Cincinnati, scientists are trying to bring some of the albatross’s natural skill into modern drone technology.

With a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Professor Sameh Eisa is leading a project that could change how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) handle long-distance flight.

The goal is simple: make drones fly longer and smarter using the same strategies that make the albatross a master of the skies.

How the albatross masters flight

Albatrosses don’t flap much. They soar. They use a technique called dynamic soaring, which lets them ride the wind to stay airborne for hours – or days – without using much energy.

Eisa and his team developed a new way to mimic this in drones. They call it a “natural extremum-seeking system.” The concept is based on how birds instinctively adjust their pitch, roll, and airspeed to find the most energy-efficient flight path.

To stay aloft, albatrosses tack into the wind like sailboats. They climb until they lose momentum, then dive, using gravity and wind to push forward. Just before touching the water, they turn again, repeating the cycle endlessly. All of it happens without flapping.

“They use it skillfully. That’s the only way they can sustain such long flights,” Eisa said. “GPS trackers show these birds can fly hundreds of miles a week. By the time they die, they’ve flown 20 times the distance between the Earth and the moon.”

Albatross instincts: Sensing the wind

Part of what makes the albatross so efficient isn’t just how it flies – it’s how it senses the environment. “Albatrosses literally have a nose for wind,” Eisa said.

They have sensitive nostrils that help them detect wind direction and speed. This helps them adjust their flight in real time, maximizing every rise and fall in the air. Eisa’s research shows that the birds manage to keep their total energy use stable throughout each dynamic soaring cycle.

In literature, the albatross has always been linked to the wind. Sailors once believed the bird was a sign of good weather.

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, killing an albatross was blamed for a ship’s cursed, windless voyage. Now, science is proving just how vital this bird is to mastering flight.

“They are solving an optimization problem that is unbelievably complicated,” Eisa said. “They make it look natural and easy.”

Drones that mimic albatross flight

According to Eisa, simulating what the albatross does is not easy. Even powerful computers struggle with the calculations.

“A few seconds of data can take 100 seconds to generate. And albatrosses are doing it in real time with a high level of accuracy,” he said. “It seems implausible.”

For drones to match that, they’ll need to read the wind and adjust constantly. That means measuring changes in both speed and direction and altering their flight path accordingly – all without human help.

“If we can get closer to how the albatross does it, we can be more efficient,” Eisa said.

Turning wind into an advantage

The project, named Albatross, brings together UC students, weather experts, industry engineers, and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Traditionally, drones have struggled in windy conditions. This team wants to flip that. They believe wind can become an asset, not a problem.

Using Eisa’s new model of dynamic soaring, they’re building flight control systems that help drones ride the wind the way birds do. The designs will be tested with UC’s DARPA industry partners to measure how much energy can be saved.

The project isn’t just about drones. It could also help scientists better understand how albatrosses do what they do.

“If we can fly more efficiently like birds, we’ll have a brighter future for unmanned aerial systems,” Eisa said.

Turning albatross flight into innovation

The potential impact of this work goes beyond the lab. It could influence how drones are used in defense, science, and environmental research.

Gautam Pillay, UC’s associate dean of research, said Eisa’s pioneering work exemplifies the transformative impact biomimicry is having on next-generation aerospace systems.

“By unlocking the secrets of dynamic soaring, we’re not just advancing unmanned aerial vehicle efficiency – we’re addressing critical national defense priorities, such as endurance and adaptability in contested environments,” Pillay said.

“Just as importantly, students will get unparalleled experiential learning opportunities, placing them at the heart of cutting-edge research where theory meets real-world application in collaboration with top-tier institutions and industry partners.”

Flight as a lifelong fascination

Eisa has always been drawn to flight. Ask him what superpower he would choose – flight or invisibility – and he doesn’t hesitate.

“I think flying is fascinating. It’s something we always yearn to do because we can’t do it,” said Eisa. That passion fuels his work in biomimicry.

“Nature has been optimizing flight for millions of years of evolution. So to take this gift from nature and make it available to humanity is engineering at its best.”

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