This is actually pretty cool, with some solid engineering - general idea is to tap the wind when you can, use an embedded quadcopter to steer and lift when you can't. They claim tumbleweed has a porosity gradient from top to bottom which allows it to pick up more wind movement than if it were even porosity everywhere, so the little guys are engineered with a similar bias to help get the most out of wind. I imagine it's .. not great .. if you're headed into the wind.
Looking at the design, could this type of case serve as "armour" for the drone, thus thwarting simple anti-drone measures for both civilian and military drones?
This is actually pretty cool, with some solid engineering - general idea is to tap the wind when you can, use an embedded quadcopter to steer and lift when you can't. They claim tumbleweed has a porosity gradient from top to bottom which allows it to pick up more wind movement than if it were even porosity everywhere, so the little guys are engineered with a similar bias to help get the most out of wind. I imagine it's .. not great .. if you're headed into the wind.
Paper in Nature Communications: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66513-1
I once wanted to be Bob Munden — the tumbleweed / quick-draw fantasy era.
Looking at the design, could this type of case serve as "armour" for the drone, thus thwarting simple anti-drone measures for both civilian and military drones?