In February 2022, the international scientific journal Nature published a photograph of a small beetle with feather-like wings on its front cover. The photograph was taken from one of the research articles on insects’ flight mechanisms in the special issue. One member of the international research group that contributed to this article was Prof. Hao Liu (Hiroshi Ryu), who is associated with the Graduate School of Engineering at Chiba University. Prof. Liu has conducted research on biomimetics* and has applied his findings to the design of drones and for suggesting techniques to develop “smart drones.” Because of its uniqueness and potential for real-world applications, Prof. Liu’s research has been featured in various media outlets. We interviewed Prof. Liu and asked him about his research in detail, especially the path leading to this research topic. *The study of the formation, structure, or function of biologically produced substances and materials and biological mechanisms and processes, especially for the purpose of synthesizing similar … Continue reading Developing next-generation drones: learning from insects and birds