Meeting Abstract
Birds frequently take off and land on branches that vary widely in size and texture. Yet, despite our familiarity with these behaviors, we do not fully understand how they integrate the use of aerodynamic support from their wings, energy transfer from their legs, and friction at their feet to take off and land so reliably. To study these behaviors in detail, we made high-speed recordings of Pacific parrotlets (Forpus coelestis) taking off and landing from instrumented perches with a range of surface properties and diameters. The kinematics and force/torque measurements give insight into the biomechanics and control strategies that enable birds to perform these maneuvers consistently on different perches. By further integrating these results with experimental data on the contact mechanics at the foot-surface interface, we develop a model of the force space in which birds can maintain a stable grasp during takeoff and landing. This insight into the biomechanics and behavior of how birds take off and land on a variety of surfaces can also inform the design of more robust and versatile perching aerial robots.
