Drones are the future of so many important parts of our lives – from space exploration to reconnaissance to search and rescue missions. So far, most drones have been made in basically the same configuration: rotor(s) on top, body on bottom, the whole apparatus vulnerable to outside forces. Even the sturdy ones are prone to breaking when they crash, and when a drone costs hundreds or thousands of dollars it can be nerve wracking to fly one around.

The GimBall is a drone that won’t break when it crashes – in fact, it’s designed to bump into stuff and just keep on going like nothing happened. Swiss startup Flyability took their inspiration from nature’s own drones: flying insects. Their ability to collide with things and continue flying was translated into a drone that sports a handy rotating outer cage to protect its inner workings.

The interior mechanical parts always remain stable and upright no matter what position the drone is in. As the GimBall buzzes around and smacks into trees or walls, its working parts are protected. The drone stays aloft and on course, even if the course is full of obstacles. The innovative design will allow the GimBall to travel in cramped and dangerous places without the danger of running into something and going to pieces.

The lightweight carbon fiber body can even be somewhat guided on its mission by bumping into obstacles and taking its directional cues from those collisions. Because the inner workings don’t require complex navigational or obstacle avoidance systems, the drone is light and nimble (but adorably clumsy) like a bumblebee. The inventors hope that their concept can be used to send search and rescue drones to places where no other drone can safely travel.

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Remote-controlled flying machines used to be firmly in the realm of the hobbyist, but the rise of the drones has made the technology available to just about anyone. The problem with most RC planes and copters is that they have spinning rotors which can prove dangerous to nearby wildlife. A much more natural version of the drone is in the works, and it looks and moves so naturally that even other birds can’t tell the difference. The nine-gram bird charges on a small egg-shaped charger. In just 12 minutes it gets enough of a charge for 10 flights of up to eight minutes each.

The Bionic Bird is biomimetic, meaning that it is designed to look and act like its natural counterparts. When it’s flying, the Bionic Bird alternately flaps its wings and glides on the air currents. To anyone who isn’t scrutinizing the drone with binoculars, a high-flying Bionic Bird is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. The bird is controlled via Bluetooth 4.0 from a smartphone or tablet, which makes it easy to fly but also limits your range to about 100 meters. Future planned developments include motion control and support for Android devices.

Although we can imagine how much fun the Bionic Bird would be to play with, it’s also a little scary to know that one fitted with a camera could easily go unnoticed basically anywhere. The creators of the bird drone launched a wildly successful IndieGoGo campaign that raised more than 620% of its initial goal. The drone itself and its control programs are still under development, but the system is expected to be fully operational by Spring 2016.

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Out on the open sea, when someone goes overboard for whatever reason, getting to them quickly is incredibly important to prevent drowning. This concept from Iran’s RTS Lab consists of a drone that would quickly fly to a person flailing in the water and drop a life preserver, keeping them afloat until human help can arrive.

The flying robot is called Pars. It would be a ship-based quadcopter that would be launched into action immediately upon being notified of a potential drowning person in the area. Equipped with heat sensors, Pars would scan the water for the victim, fly over to the person and then drop the floating ring. Currently, the robot can only carry one life preserver at a time, but future generations will carry many for large-scale incidents.

Although RTS Lab is developing a ship-based launching platform, they are also planning for a sea-based platform. The sea platform will always be in the water, and when a marine incident occurs the flying bots can be immediately notified and sent to the location of the incident. This platform will also serve as a charging station that will charge the quadcopters via solar power, ensuring that they are always ready when needed.

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