With the body, legs, and tail of a lion and the wings, head, and talons of an eagle, the griffin is one of the most recognizable mythological creatures. Ancient Iranians and Egyptians, from where legends of griffins originated, saw the lion as the king of the beasts and the eagle as the king of the sky. Thus, the griffin became a king amongst all mythical creatures. A griffin embued majesty, intelligence, power, and strength. In modern times, griffins have come to represent schools, businesses, and organizations that aim to emulate the attributes of the king of mythical creatures. It comes as no surprise that Professor Anibal Ollero from the University of Seville in Spain took inspiration from the griffin in developing a new drone project for the European Union.

Professor Ollero heads the Robotics, Vision, and Control Laboratory (GRVC), a research and engineering laboratory with more than 70 members. As explained on its website, “GRVC plays a relevant international role in robotics, and particularly in aerial robotics and unmanned aerial systems.” Recently, the European Research Council (ERC), awarded Professor Ollero an advanced grant for a unique drone project. In 2020, the ERC established Project Horizon that would begin funding thousands of research programs throughout the EU to support technological dominance in the union. Professor Ollero’s ERC backed project is called General compliant aerial Robotic manipulation system Integrating Fixed and Flapping wings to Increase range and safety, or GRIFFIN for short.

Using biological inspiration, Professor Ollero is developing a drone that mimics the flight and capabilities of an eagle that outperforms multi rotor drones while conserving energy. Rather than using rotors that need constant battery supply for flight, GRIFFIN has articulated soft wings that can flap, glide, and respond automatically to wind currents. This allows the drone to better use its power reserves for extended flight times. With foldable wings, the drone will be able to access spaces deemed too dangerous with drones that use spinning rotors. GRIFFIN will even be able to safely interact with people without having to power down. Not needing to turn on and off will save a considerable percentage of battery life.

Like the mythical griffin, Professor Ollero’s GRIFFIN has a streamlined body and tail like a lion for heightened aerodynamics. The drone’s landing gear is also very reminiscent of a griffin. The drone’s legs have hinges on them that allow them to fold and move through a wide range of motion. At the end of the legs are talon inspired clamps that mean the drone can perch on almost any surface and manipulate objects. As stated as the project’s mission, “The robots will be able to fly minimizing energy consumption, to perch on curved surfaces and to perform dexterous manipulation.”

The GRIFFIN project has completed its initial design phase. Now Professor Ollero and his research team are working on perfecting the system to be applicable in real world environments. In particular, the team is working on how the drone will fly autonomously in various environments. They have begun studying how birds visually interpret their environment to apply this as an AI model for GRIFFIN. But as Professor Ollero said, “There is a lot of work to do on the integration of new technologies related to material science, mechanics, aerodynamics, and artificial intelligence in our robotic birds.” Professor Ollero is hopeful that he will be able to present the ERC with a functional griffin inspired drone by 2030.