The drone industry is witnessing a revolution with the advent of gecko-inspired adhesives and butterfly-like wings. These drones can now perch anywhere, fly like champions, and conquer tough conditions. Gecko-inspired adhesives use van der Waals forces to provide an adhesive force between the adhesive and a substrate. They permit attachment and detachment with very low forces and without highly constrained kinematics for approach and departure. Butterfly-like wings can vary their shapes as freely as birds’ wings, which could have advantages for small aircraft in built environments. These innovations are opening up a whole new world of possibilities for drone technology.
