Gizmorama - February 24, 2016

Good Morning,

Look! It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's a unmanned micro air vehicles inspired by a bat? That's right. Membrane wings might just re-revolution flight as we know it. Seriously!

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Bat flight inspires micro air vehicle design --*
SOUTHAMPTON, England - Researchers in England have outfitted unmanned micro air vehicles with new wings inspired by bats.

The membrane wings are without mechanical components, making them lighter and more flexible. Voltage inputs manipulate the wings mid-flight, allowing them to function like artificial muscles and change shape in response to shifting aerodynamic forces.

MAVs using the new, more economical wings use less energy and are able to make longer flights.

A team of researchers from the University of Southampton and Imperial College London have been working to incorporate the physiology of bats into unmanned aerial vehicle and MAV technology.

High-speed cameras and computer models have allowed scientists to observe and mimic the aerodynamic advantages of bat wings.

"We've successfully demonstrated the fundamental feasibility of MAVs incorporating wings that respond to their environment, just like those of the bats that have fueled our thinking," Bharath Ganapathisubramani, project leader and Southampton professor, said in a news release.

"We've also shown in laboratory trials that active wings can dramatically alter the performance," he said. "The combined computational and experimental approach that characterized the project is unique in the field of bio-inspired MAV design."

Ganapathisubramani and his colleagues are now working on incorporating the wings into current commercial MAV designs.

"This is a paradigm shift in the approach to MAV design," project researcher Rafael Palacios said. "Instead of a traditional approach of scaling down existing aircraft design methods, we constantly change the membrane shape under varying wind conditions to optimize its aerodynamic performance."


*-- Apple releases 'Error 53' bug fix for iPhone, apologizes --*
CUPERTINO, Calif. - Apple provided a fix for the "Error 53" bug that's plagued some iPhone owners who tried to replace home buttons at third-party repair stores.

On Friday, Apple released the fix as part of its operating system iOS 9.2.1 software update.

Devices fell into an "Error 53" when the newly installed home button -- the circular button at the bottom of the iPhone that returns users back to the home screen -- would not sync with the Touch ID functionality that allows for touchscreens to operate.

The error may have shut down the entire operating system and gone into what Apple calls "bricked" status. This renders the phone as useful as a brick.

"This reports as an 'Error 53' in iTunes and appears when a device fails a security test," a statement from Apple announcing the fix, said. "This test was designed to check whether Touch ID works properly before the device leaves the factory."

Apple said "Error 53" was designed as a factory test and not intended to affect customers. Customers who paid for an out-of-warranty replacement of their device based on this issue should contact AppleCare about a reimbursement.

The software update released this week was meant to undo the brick mode and return the phone back to normal operating capabilities.

"We apologize for any inconvenience," the statement from Apple said.

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