A Delicious Edible Drone with Nutritional Wings to the Rescue

A prototype which is an edible drone whose wings can be consumed is being developed

Now get snacks, medicine, or water on the buzzing drone whose wings can be consumed too until the rescue team arrives when you are stranded, lost, or injured while hiking. This scenario is now possible. A prototype, developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Laussane, is an edible drone.

The munchable device is a component of the RoboFood initiative. RoboFood, researchers are looking into robots that can be consumed by both people and animals, as well as foods that act robotically. Under the heading "Towards edible drones for rescue missions: design and drone with nutritional wings," the team posted its research online. The goal of the study is to develop commercial drones that can carry a payload large enough to assist people in dire circumstances. The design has components that resemble those of an airplane, the fixed wing is formed from rice cakes and gelatin, and contains 300 calories.

Lead author Bokeon Kwak, who talked with IEEE Spectrum, described the drone as tasting "like a crispy rice crisp cookie with a tiny bit of raw gelatin." It would probably taste tasty if you were lost and hungry.

The researchers used a laser cutter to carve out circular rice cakes, then used gelatin to glue them together to form wings that could withstand flight. The rice is substantial but light, and it is still largely nutrient-rich. Although the drone would only be able to travel in one direction, because it is half edible, there wouldn't be much waste.

Edible drones are a concept that has been discussed for a while. In 2014, we encountered a chocolate quadcopter, while in 2017, a UK aerospace business promoted the Pouncer edible drone. Although Pouncer doesn't appear to have entered production, the rice-cake-wing drone keeps the overall idea alive.

The team working on the edible drone plans to look at methods to improve the drone's nutrition and see whether more edible elements may be incorporated into the design. Whatever your opinion of rice cakes as a food, they would be like manna from heaven in a time of need.