The following article is an except from “Marketplace ... a public media outlet that produces broadcast shows, podcasts, digital reporting and more.” The content describes cutting edge tech that is using the design principles that God built into living creatures, in this case, dragonflies. Reverse engineering is a common tool used by countries and companies to take the technology and discoveries of other companies for themselves. God has no patent protection on His creations and the technology of life is so advanced that it sometimes defies human understanding. Still, smart people are realizing “these things work!” TO
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Drones are a huge industry. They’re used in agriculture, construction, real estate, filmmaking and military surveillance ... But in some ways, drones are still in their early stages techwise. Some engineers believe the best way to improve the tech is to copy nature.
That’s the thinking at Animal Dynamics, a British tech firm specializing in biomechanics and drone design. CEO Alex Caccia and his colleagues have immersed themselves in the rich complexity of animal and insect life, looking for engineering solutions and finding them in creatures like the dragonfly.
“Dragonfly is a really good example in the insect world of athletic performance in flight. And this is because they’ve got extremely effective control of their wingbeat,” Caccia said. With four powerful wings able to flap independently, it can hover and strike with lightning speed, fly vast distances and remain stable in high winds. It’s the inspiration, said Caccia, for his company’s principal product.
“We’ve spent the last five years making a small, flapping-winged vehicle called Skeeter, and, yeah, it has four flapping wings,” Caccia said, adding that the 9-inch spy drone has attracted investment from the military.
“We’ve made it fly with extraordinarily good performance. Nothing like the level of performance that an insect has, but nonetheless a tiny vehicle is able to fly in very turbulent wind conditions,” Caccia said. (From a podcast “Mimicking birds and insects is the future of drones,” Aug. 19, 2020)
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“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:7-10).
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