E voce pensa que entende de tecnologia,
voe nessa!!!
"You should know about this research. Do not tell anyone I sent you this. I don't want my friends to know I access your site. HW "
Posted at 6:27 a.m. PDT Friday, April 10, 1998
Why are flies such good flyers?
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Anyone who has ever spent a summer day furiously swatting pesky flies knows it can be a frustrating experience. Now researchers have discovered why the aerial insects are so elusive.
It has to do with an interactive control system so simple yet intricate that they could teach aeronautical engineers a thing or two, said Michael Dickinson of the University of California, Berkeley. ``Flies are the most accomplished fliers on the planet in terms of aerodynamics,'' Dickinson said in a study released Thursday. ``They can do things no other animal can, like land on ceilings or inclined surfaces,'' he added. ``And they are especially deft at takeoffs and landings -- their skill far exceeds that of any other insect or bird.''
To understand how they work, Dickinson and his colleagues at Berkeley's department of integrative biology built the world's fanciest virtual reality videogame for flies: Fruit and blow flies were glued to sticks and partly dissected so electrodes could be attached to individual muscles. The flies were allowed to move their wings as if flying while responding to rapidly shifting patterns of light simulating motion in various directions.
The scientists found that the tiny wing stubs called halteres are actually wired to the flies' eyes. In the virtual reality system, there was an obvious and immediate connection between those muscles and the eyes. ``Lo and behold, the first time we did it -- boom -- it is attached,'' Dickinson said. ``Totally unexpected.''
The results, researchers said, could help engineers design miniature flying robots to help in space missions or, on Earth, sniff out gas leaks or snoop behind enemy lines during battles.
