Overview
- The peer-reviewed paper was published Jan. 7 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface by a Princeton–University of Illinois team.
- Researchers focused on the American grasshopper’s hindwing, using high-resolution CT scans to produce 3D-printable variants that isolated shape, camber, and corrugation.
- Water-channel testing and motion-capture flight experiments showed the synthetic gliders performed on par with real grasshoppers by the team’s benchmarks.
- Smooth wing geometries delivered the most efficient and repeatable glides, indicating natural corrugation likely supports folding or steep-angle maneuvers rather than peak glide efficiency.
- Next steps target wing deployment from a stowed state without heavy motors to pair gliding with jumping for longer, untethered multimodal operation.