Bat-inspired robot can walk, fly and chase you

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and the National Centre of Competence in Research announced their work in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics on Jan. 19. They found inspiration from the common vampire bat, which is unique among bats because of its terrestrial movement capabilities; it can walk, run and hop quadrupedally along the ground.

Like a bat, DALER has a foldable skeleton under its fabric-covered wings. The same motor that retracts and deploys DALER's wings also turns the wing segments over, letting it move quickly in all types of environments. It can directly change from flying to walking (it may even be able to outrun you), but unlike a real bat, DALER can't climb a tree.

The practical applications for DALER's capabilities include search and rescue operations, according to a release, especially in dangerous or inaccessible areas. At this point, however, DALER is a science experiement