Morphing Drone Made Possible by Melting Metals

In Michael Bartlett’s Virginia Tech lab, morphing materials have made it possible to create a drone that changes modes by using melting metals. Watch this video to see, among other things, researchers use rubber, metal, and temperature to morph materials and fix them into place with no motors or pulleys.

“When we started the project, we wanted a material that could do three things: change shape, hold that shape, and then return to the original configuration, and to do this over many cycles,” said Michael Bartlett , assistant professor in mechanical engineering. “One of the challenges was to create a material that was soft enough to dramatically change shape, yet rigid enough to create adaptable machines that can perform different functions.”