Flying robot rides the wind like a bird

Embodied intelligence makes robot energy-efficient and easy to steer

Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

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Robot Floaty, Michael Mühlebach (left) and Ghadeer Elmkaiel (right). 

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Credit: MPI-IS / W. Scheible

Tübingen, Germany – Current flying objects face a trade-off: Drones with propellers for instance are very agile and able to hover, however they use up a lot of energy. Airplanes on the other hand feature fixed wings which allow them to fly very efficiently. The downside: they can’t remain suspended in the air like a kestrel on the lookout for prey.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Tübingen and from the University of Stuttgart created a shape-changing flying robot named “Floaty” that can fly efficiently as well as stay stable in the air. The scientists’ work was published on June 21, 2026 in npj Robotics, an open access, peer-reviewed journal which is part of the Nature portfolio.

Floaty is inspired by birds which can glide and remain airborne by making use of wind currents and by simply adjusting their wings. Just like these animals, Floaty doesn’t utilize propellers to remain in the air.

In a video (https://youtu.be/Fl-G3xCPYdo?si=PYqGNd2Fu1F1avvg), the robot is featured flying in a wind tunnel with speeds of up to 10 m/s. Floaty makes use of the fast-rising air from below and quickly changes the four movable flaps on its top. By rotating these adjustable flaps, the robot controls how air flows around it, changing the air resistance. This allows Floaty to balance itself, even if air pushes it sideways – without the need for active propulsion and high-power consumption. Learned from many experiments inside the wind tunnel, Floaty relies on a learned aerodynamic model to precisely control itself and hover in place. It can successfully recover from physical pushes and wind disturbances.

„We believe our work opens up new ways of building flying robots that are more efficient and more sustainable,” says Ghadeer Elmkaiel, who is first author of the publication and a Ph.D. student in the Learning and Dynamical Systems Group at MPI-IS. “Instead of relying on thrust-generating motors, Floaty shows that robots can ride the wind intelligently, just like birds – saving a lot of energy while still staying controllable.”

Initially, the biggest challenge was making the robot naturally stable so it wouldn't flip over, while ensuring it remained easy to steer. During early wind tunnel tests, Floaty’s original flat shape caused it to tip over sideways instead of righting itself. To fix this, the researchers made two key design changes: they lowered the robot’s center of gravity and redesigned the rigid flaps by adding a precise bend. Thanks to these adjustments, Floaty is now naturally stable and automatically corrects its balance in mid-air.

“Our Floaty robot could be useful in many real-world situations where there are updrafts,” says Michael Mühlebach, who leads the Learning and Dynamical Systems Group and who is co-author of the publication. He gives several examples: “Floaty could inspect factory smokestacks where there is strong upward airflow. It could potentially work there with little modification. Similar technology could perhaps also help control rockets during re-entry, or it could help guide weather balloons. There are many ways in which the robot can take advantage of upward airflows to save energy.”

 

Reference:

Embodied intelligence for sustainable flight: a soaring robot with active morphological control

Ghadeer Elmkaiel, Syn Schmitt, and Michael Muehlebach

npj Robotics volume 4, Article number: 28 (2026)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44182-026-00086-z

 

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Journal

npj Robotics

DOI

10.1038/s44182-026-00086-z 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Embodied intelligence for sustainable flight: a soaring robot with active morphological control

Like a miniature lunar rocket: Researchers develop modular nanorobot

University of Basel

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Animated explainer on the design and functionality of the modular nanorobot

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Credit: University of Basel Concept & Information Design: Marina Bräm, viz. bybraem Concept & Motion Design: Adrian Aghenitei

A team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has developed a versatile nanorobot with propulsion and payload modules. The two reusable modules autonomously self-assemble and could be used in medicine or industry.

Nanorobots sound like science fiction: tiny machines for medicine, the environment, or industry. In fact, nanorobotics has become a rapidly growing field of research. It is considered a promising approach, for example, for delivering active substances to specific locations in the body. Unlike their larger-scale counterparts, they are not made of electronics, computer chips, and software, but rather of biomolecules and nanoparticles.

Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Cornelia Palivan from the University of Basel are now reporting on a sophisticated modular nanorobot with greater functional flexibility than many existing systems. “Previous nanorobots are often designed for a specific task only,” says Cornelia Palivan. “Our modular system, on the other hand, can be adapted to different applications.” The technology could be used not only in medicine but also in industry and environmental technology.

Propulsion module and payload capsule

The nanorobot, which the team describes in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, resembles a lunar rocket with multiple modules. A magnetic propulsion module moves the nanorobot, while a second module serves as a payload capsule, safely transporting therapeutic agents or enzymes to their target location.

In previous work, Palivan’s team developed nanoscale polymer vesicles that protect encapsulated enzymes. Molecules can enter the vesicle through pores, be processed by the enzymes and then their products are released into the environment. The payload capsule of the nanorobot contains four such enzyme-loaded polymer vesicles, providing the desired functionality. Depending on the design, the vesicles inside the payload capsule can also be selectively opened, for example to release bioactive compounds.

A DNA-based molecular Velcro system

The two modules are connected by a DNA-based “Velcro fastener”: complementary DNA strands on both modules ensure that the propulsion module and the payload capsule self-assemble in a programable manner and remain stably coupled.

To enable the nanorobot to dock onto specific cells or materials, the payload capsule is also equipped with additional biomolecules that facilitate docking. In the lab, the team tested this using a human cancer cell line known as HeLa cells. They loaded the nanorobots with fluorescent molecules and observed under the microscope that they accumulated on the surface of the cells.

Targeted attack on cancer cells and other applications

Equipped with the necessary enzymes, the nanorobots successfully produced an anticancer drug which reduced the viability of the HeLa cells to 16 percent within 72 hours. “The drug can have a concentrated local effect if we use our nanorobot to specifically target it to the cancer cells,” explains Dr. Voichita Mihali, the first author of the study.

For other applications outside the medical domain, for example catalysis, another feature might prove particularly valuable: Since the propulsion module is magnetic, the nanorobots can be retrieved and reused after their task is completed. The researchers were also able to separate the two modules, refill the payload capsules, and recombine them with the propulsion modules.

The modular nanorobot represents an important step toward a multifunctional tool for a wide range of applications. Although its use in humans remains a long-term goal, the system can be readily adapted for other domains simply by modifying the payload capsule.

The work was conducted within the framework of the National Center of Competence in Research – Molecular Systems Engineering and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute. The University of Basel team collaborated with researchers from Heidelberg University.

 

One of the nanorobots, imaged with a Transmission Electron Microscope.

Credit

Voichita Mihali, University of Basel

 

The nanorobot can attach itself to specific surfaces and carry out enzymatic reactions there. The enzymes (purple) inside the payload capsule convert molecules from the surrounding environment (left, dark gray) into the desired product (right, light gray).

Credit

University of Basel, Marina Bräm viz. bybraem

 

Illustration of the versatile nanorobot. It is 150 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Credit

University of Basel, Marina Bräm viz. bybraem

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Journal

Advanced Functional Materials

DOI

10.1002/adfm.202600079 

Article Title

Multiplex Modular Nanorobotic Systems with Catalytic Activity under Magnetic Navigation

 

A mini robot to simplify dental treatment

University of Basel

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A miniature robot developed at the University of Basel could help prepare teeth for a crown.

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Credit: University of Basel, Catherine Weyer

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a miniature dental robot that could one day automatically prepare teeth for crowns. The technology could help reduce the number of appointments needed for dental treatment.

A routine check-up at the dentist ends with bad news: tooth decay has left a large cavity, and the tooth needs a crown. The treatment requires several follow-up appointments. During the first appointment, the dentist removes the decay, fills the cavity and prepares the tooth for the crown. She then takes an impression and fits a temporary crown. The permanent crown is produced based on the impression and can only be placed at a later appointment.

In future, this process could become much faster thanks to a small dental robot developed by researchers at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Basel. The prototype is about the size of a wine cork, measuring just 43 by 26 by 28 millimeters. Its motors and control system are located outside the robot and connected to it via flexible drive shafts, cables and tubes. “It is designed to be small enough to fit comfortably into an open mouth,” says Dr Yukiko Tomooka, first author of the paper in IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, in which the research team presents the robot.

Fewer appointments at the dentist

The prototype, called “MIR” — short for “Miniature Intraoral Robot” — is designed to prepare teeth precisely according to a digital plan. The idea is that, after a scan during the first appointment, dentists could plan exactly how the robot should remove the tooth material and order the crown straight away, rather than waiting until a second appointment.

The scan is used not only to plan the crown, but also to produce a custom-fitted dental splint to which the mini dental robot is attached. “Even if the patient turns their head, the MIR moves with them,” says Tomooka.

Remarkably precise dental robot

The researchers tested their dental robot on tooth models made of synthetic resin and on a ceramic material with a hardness similar to that of tooth enamel. The robot prepares the tooth in two steps: first, it uses a wide drill to reduce the tooth surface, removing material from above. In the second step, a longer, thinner drill works on the sides of the tooth.

What is remarkable is how precisely the dental robot already works, even though it does not yet have any sensors to measure or even correct its position directly. In tests, the positional error was less than 0.2 millimeters, which will be further reduced after sensors are integrated into the system.

In addition to precision, the researchers are also measuring the forces generated during drilling. In the tests, these remained below five newtons, roughly equivalent to the gravitational force of a half-liter bottle of water. The team is also investigating the noise produced by the system in order to better assess its suitability for use in dental practice.

Sensors and camera to follow

Further work is still needed before MIR can be used in dental practices. As a next step, the researchers plan to integrate sensors and a camera into the robot so that the system can monitor its position and the progress of the treatment. “Even after a power outage, MIR would know where it is and where it needs to continue based on the sensor data,” explains research group leader Professor Georg Rauter. The aim is to achieve this without making the mini robot any larger.

Rauter’s team regularly works closely with practicing physicians and dentists to develop robots for medical applications. The dental robot was developed as part of an Innosuisse-funded project in collaboration with the Center for Dentistry at the University of Zurich, Basel-based Camlog Biotechnologies GmbH and the University of Bern.

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Journal

IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics

DOI

10.1109/TMRB.2026.3682629 

 

The dental robot is mounted on a custom-fitted dental splint. Even if the patient moves their head, the robot can keep working precisely where it ought to.

Credit

University of Basel, Catherine Weyer

The dental robot in action [VIDEO] 

 

Research Alert: UC San Diego study tracks shifting US smoking norms over 30 years

University of California - San Diego

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A recent study from researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego developed and validated a new way to measure changing social norms around cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure in the United States over the last three decades. Using data from 1.5 million respondents in the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey, researchers created a “Willingness to Restrict Smoking” (WTRS) scale that captures how strongly people believe smoking should be restricted in public settings. The results offer tobacco control programs a new way to evaluate their success and solve a decades-long challenge for researchers: how to effectively measure social norms around tobacco.

In the early 1990s, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) helped transform the public health approach to  tobacco control by shifting the focus from individual behavior change to changing social norms around smoking, particularly around where smoking should and should not be permitted. The California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) became a leading example of this strategy, paving the way for California to successfully implement the world’s first smoke-free bar law in the late 1990s. This achievement was made possible by prior CTCP efforts to reshape attitudes toward smoking in bars through mass media campaigns featuring bar workers’ testimonials and targeted outreach to bar owners and employees. Since then, researchers and public health officials alike have sought a clear and reliable way to measure social norms around tobacco use.

The new study analyzed survey responses collected between 1992 and 2022 across all 50 states. Participants were asked whether smoking should be allowed in locations such as hospitals, workplaces, restaurants, shopping malls, bars, playgrounds and casinos. Researchers found that support for smoke-free environments increased steadily over time, particularly in indoor public spaces. Hospitals and playgrounds consistently received the strongest support for smoking restrictions.

The researchers say the findings support the long-standing public health strategy of reducing smoking by shifting social norms around secondhand smoke exposure. They also found that the scale remained stable and reliable across survey years despite changes in survey questions and settings over time. According to the study, the WTRS scale may offer tobacco control programs a new way to quantitatively evaluate whether campaigns and policies are successfully changing public attitudes toward smoking restrictions.

The study [“Social norms and the decline in US cigarette smoking: Evidence from 30 years of US representative surveys”], led by David Strong, PhD, professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, published on June 17, 2026 in BMJ Public Health.

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Journal

BMJ Public Health

 

Fathers’ smoking habits influence teen vaping, new research shows

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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A new study from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln sheds light on how parental smoking shapes adolescents’ attitudes and use of both traditional cigarettes and e‑cigarettes, finding that fathers’ behaviors may play a more influential role than those of mothers. 

Led by Alex Mason, a professor in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, the research tracked 230 children from preschool through adolescence, examining how repeated exposure to smoking behaviors within the home affects later smoking and vaping behaviors by teens. The study collected self-reports on parental smoking habits during early childhood, including retrospective accounts of smoking during pregnancy, and later assessing teens’ attitudes toward and use of cigarettes and vaping devices.

The findings show that cumulative exposure to parental smoking over time significantly increases the likelihood that adolescents will both view smoking and vaping more favorably and engage in those behaviors themselves.

“With repeated exposure, as we suggest here, adolescents develop attitudes that are favorable to the substance, and then that results in smoking and vaping behaviors,” Mason said.

Most surprisingly, the researchers also found that a father’s smoking habits were more significantly linked to adolescent attitudes and use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

“I think our initial hunch would have been that mothers, more likely in the caregiving role and with prenatal exposure, would have more effect,” Mason said. “The father's role appears to be more salient — they're observing their father's smoking and being influenced by their father's attitudes.”

Mason pointed out that research into teen alcohol use follows a similar pattern, with paternal drinking exerting a stronger influence on future use. 

The research comes at a time when youth vaping use is trending upward. Data from the Nebraska High School Youth Tobacco Survey show that while cigarette use among high school students has dropped significantly, e‑cigarette use has climbed — from 19% reporting ever using e‑cigarettes in 2015 to 30% in 2022.

The 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that 19% of students reported having used a tobacco product at some point, and about one in 10 high school students identified as current users. Vaping products are the most used product.

“Cigarette smoking plummeted to historic lows in terms of prevalence,” Mason said. “But of course, they quickly replaced that behavior with something else. Of the substances we’ve measured in our research — and we’ve assessed many others — by a long shot, vaping was the most prevalent, and we were seeing pretty high levels of vaping in kids at a young age.”

So what can parents do? 

Mason said this new research shows that early family intervention is needed to prevent children from becoming consumers of nicotine and tobacco products. He suggested, based on additional research literature, that parents who smoke or vape should avoid doing so in the presence of children and should have clear household rules and expectations that substance use is illegal and harmful. 

Mason is developing a new proposal for research into the effects of vaping on teens’ brain development. He noted that if children start vaping in their middle school or early teen years, by the time they graduate high school, they will have consumed the products for six or seven years. 

“We have very little understanding of what the consequences of that is for brain development,” he said. “It’s kind of an absurd experiment with our children’s health.”

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Journal

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113132 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Associations of parental smoking throughout childhood with adolescent smoking and vaping: Mediation via adolescent substance use attitudes

Article Publication Date

21-Jun-2026