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Optical maneuvering of dandelion-inspired fliers with vortex-enabled stability
Jianfeng Yang1, Soumarup Bhattacharyya2, Aditya Potnis2
1Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, P.O. Box 541, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland.
Science Advances
|July 29, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a dandelion-inspired drone, the dandidrone, for controlled flight. This ultralight microflyer uses light-activated soft actuators for maneuverability, overcoming limitations of current airborne systems.
Area of Science:
- Robotics and Materials Science
- Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Untethered, centimeter-scale airborne structures face challenges in maneuverability due to energy and miniaturization limits of active systems.
- Passive systems lack controlled mid-air trajectory adjustments.
- Existing microfliers are constrained by power and component size limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an ultralight, passively flying airborne structure with optically controlled maneuverability.
- To investigate the potential of responsive materials for agile, untethered microflight.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of an ultralight hexagonal polymeric assembly (dandidrone) with six filamentous structures.
- Utilizing soft actuators made of liquid crystalline elastomer thin films for photomechanical deformation and morphology control.
- Employing particle image velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze flight dynamics.
- Conducting free-fall experiments in a low-turbulent airstream to demonstrate control capabilities.
Main Results:
- The dandidrone exhibits passive flight with a terminal velocity similar to dandelion seeds but with 45% better positional stability and significantly reduced rotational rates.
- CFD simulations revealed a stable asymmetric separated vortex ring contributing to flight stability and mid-air steerability.
- Demonstrated precise altitude control, reversible body flipping, pattern formation, swarm behavior, and controlled 3D trajectories.
- Achieved light-induced asymmetry for maneuverability in air.
Conclusions:
- Responsive materials with light-induced asymmetry enable maneuverability in passive airborne structures.
- The dandidrone design offers a novel approach to agile, untethered microfliers, overcoming limitations of active systems.
- This technology paves the way for advanced microaerial vehicles with precise trajectory control.
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