Insects' drag-based flight mechanism could improve tiny flying robots

Thrips don't rely on lift in order to fly. Instead, the tiny insects rely on a drag-based flight mechanism, staying afloat in airflow velocities with a large ratio of force to wing size. Researchers have performed the first test of drag force on a thrip's wing under constant airflow in a bench-top wind tunnel and, drawing from microfabrication and nanomechanics, they created an experiment in which a thrip's wing was glued to a self-sensing microcantilever.