Organic drone (turns into sweet water)

The unmanned aerial vehicle that was assembled at the NASA Ames Research Center is almost alive. At least it is partly composed of organic materials that are found in wildlife. At the beginning of last month, the device successfully conducted the first test flight.

Such a drone will definitely appeal to environmentalists and the military. Indeed, in the event of a crash, the drone decomposes almost completely, dissolving in the environment. “No one will understand, or someone poured a puddle of sweet water, or there was an aircraft here,” says Lynn Rothschild, head of the development team for “biological UAV”.

The main part of the body and other parts manufactured by Ecovative Design . She specializes in the production / cultivation of various things from the mycelium - mycelium, a vegetative body of mushrooms.

Degradable packaging is in demand from customers from specific niches.
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Mycelium housing

The body of the mycelium was covered with a protective layer of sheets of cellulose, resembling leather material. Sheets are made from cells cloned from aspen saliva. This is a waterproof sticky material that the wasps themselves use in building a waterproof nest.


Cellulose casing

Electronics printed silver nanoparticles, the substrate is made on a cellulose basis.


Electronics

“Certainly, there are parts that cannot be replaced by biological components,” admits one of the developers Raman Nelakanti from Stanford. So, for the first test flight, standard propellers and controls from a serial quadcopter were used. It also has a standard battery.

But researchers do not give up. The next component that they want to translate into an organic form is sensors. They can be made using E. coli bacteria.