It may not look much different to a regular drone , but that ’s a good matter — because this little biodrone is made from stuff that allow it to biodegrade and merely evaporate away into its environment .
The trailer , you see , is plan to bequeath as little trace as possible if it clank - domain . The main airframe of the foxiness is made take shape a root - alike fungal cloth called mycelium which is then coated in plant life - base cellulose to make it sturdy . Much of its circuitry is print using silverish nanoparticle ink , which means it can break down .
The idea , then , is that the drones are sturdy enough to fly but biodegradable enough to break down if they crash land in enemy territory . “ No one would recognise if you ’d spill some sugar water supply or if there ’d been an aeroplane there , ” said Lynn Rothschild of NASA ’s Ames Research Center in California , who made the drone pipe , speaking to New Scientist .
So far , a few component still have to made of non - biodegradable materials — in this casing , the rotors , controls and battery — but at least the trade would be unidentifiable by the time it was found . [ New Scientist ]
paradigm by CNASA / Ames
DronesScience
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and civilisation news in your inbox daily .
News from the time to come , delivered to your present .
Please select your desire newssheet and submit your email to raise your inbox .
You May Also Like
