Meeting Abstract
Everyday, birds land and take off from branches that vary widely in size and texture. Yet, despite our familiarity with these behaviors, we do not fully understand how birds integrate the use of aerodynamic braking, energy absorption from the legs, and friction at their feet to land and take off so reliably. In this work, we examine how the feet of birds facilitate attachment on irregular surfaces. We measured the claws from four Pacific parrotlets and developed a model to describe claw shape. We also experimentally determined the friction forces between the contact surfaces of a bird’s foot and a variety of natural and human-made surfaces. With this data, we can answer key questions about how birds manipulate friction on a wide range of surfaces and the mechanisms in their feet that enable this versatility. We compare these results to the friction of the claws and spines used in perching aerial robots for insight into aerial robot design.
