AI and robotics demystify the workings of a fly’s wing

Machine learning and robotics have shed new light on one of the most sophisticated skeletal structures in the animal kingdom: the insect wing hinge.

Unlike birds or bats, which evolved wings by adapting existing limbs, insect wings are wholly original appendages, and understanding how the complex hinge that links the insect wing to its body works has been a challenge.

But now a team of researchers have combined cutting edge imaging, machine learning and robotics to build a model that is shedding new light on the structure.

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