Researchers Study with the Aid of Dead Birds
2023-04-24
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1Scientists in the southwestern state of New Mexico are giving dead birds new life through unusual research.
2A team at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro is using dead birds that are prepared using taxidermy.
3Taxidermy is the art of preparing dead animals to look like they are still alive.
4The team is turning the birds into drones in order to study flight.
5A drone is a small aircraft without a pilot.
6Mostafa Hassanalian is an engineering professor who is leading the project.
7He has found that the machine birds have not produced the results he expected.
8"We came up with this idea that we can use... dead birds and make them (into) a drone," he said.
9"Everything is there...we do reverse engineering."
10The bird drones are still being tested at the university.
11The goal is to better understand how birds fly together in groups and how groups form.
12Hassanalian said the aviation industry could gain from the research.
13"If we learn how these birds manage...energy between themselves, we can apply (that) into the future aviation industry to save more energy and save more fuel," he said.
14Brenden Herkenhoff is a doctoral student at New Mexico Tech.
15He is researching flight efficiency, including how to limit the waste of energy.
16Herkenhoff is studying how color affects flight efficiency.
17"We've done experiments and determined that for our fixed- wing aircraft, applying certain color can change the flight efficiency. And the same is true for birds, we believe," he said.
18Hassanalian said the taxidermy bird drone flies for up to only 20 minutes.
19He said the next step is to make it fly longer and to carry out tests in the wild with living birds.
20I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Scientists in the southwestern state of New Mexico are giving dead birds new life through unusual research. 2A team at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro is using dead birds that are prepared using taxidermy. Taxidermy is the art of preparing dead animals to look like they are still alive. 3The team is turning the birds into drones in order to study flight. A drone is a small aircraft without a pilot. 4Mostafa Hassanalian is an engineering professor who is leading the project. He has found that the machine birds have not produced the results he expected. 5"We came up with this idea that we can use... dead birds and make them (into) a drone," he said. "Everything is there...we do reverse engineering." 6The bird drones are still being tested at the university. The goal is to better understand how birds fly together in groups and how groups form. Hassanalian said the aviation industry could gain from the research. 7"If we learn how these birds manage...energy between themselves, we can apply (that) into the future aviation industry to save more energy and save more fuel," he said. 8Brenden Herkenhoff is a doctoral student at New Mexico Tech. He is researching flight efficiency, including how to limit the waste of energy. 9Herkenhoff is studying how color affects flight efficiency. 10"We've done experiments and determined that for our fixed- wing aircraft, applying certain color can change the flight efficiency. And the same is true for birds, we believe," he said. 11Hassanalian said the taxidermy bird drone flies for up to only 20 minutes. He said the next step is to make it fly longer and to carry out tests in the wild with living birds. 12I'm Gregory Stachel. 13Liliana Salgado reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14_________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16reverse - adj. opposite to what is usual or stated 17apply - v. to use (an idea, method, or law) in a particular situation 18manage - v. to use (something) carefully and without waste 19determine - v. to officially decide (something) especially because of evidence or facts 20certain - adj. used to refer to something or someone that is not named specifically 21________________________________________________________________ 22What do you think of this story? 23We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 24Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.