Aerial Robotics of the Future part of the FutureTech curriculum

As part of our FutureTech curriculum and extension activities for the Third Form Dr Rob Siddall, from the Aerial Robotics Laboratory, Imperial College London, spoke to pupils about the latest developments in drone technology. The work he’s been doing uses the natural world as inspiration to develop technologies that can help in modern times. This is a topic that the Third Form currently cover in their FutureTech lessons, so the talk nicely rounded off their studies. 

Using videos of the experiments done by his research group, and the organisms that have inspired the new developments, Dr Siddall gave a whirlwind tour of what the future may hold. His work ranged from developing a drone that dives into water like a gannet and shoots back out using a mechanism inspired by flying squid, to drones that can perch on a branch using a system akin to a bird’s foot to drones that weave webs like spider. These fantastic examples showed the pupils how all of the sciences can come together in new and innovative ways to solve the problems we face. The talk was rounded off by some inspiring questions from the pupils and staff alike.

Dr Alex Thompson, Head of FutureTech