Now, 'Edible Drone' to Deliver Life-Saving Food Amid Crisis

In a unique inventiveness, a prototype of an edible drone has been created by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). The drone consists of fixed edible wings that bring its mass ratio for carrying food to 50 per cent.

The project is a part of 'RoboFood', an initiative that aims to create edible robots that can be consumed by both humans and animals.

At the recent IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) conference in Kyoto, a presentation on the invention of the edible drone was presented. "Towards edible drones for rescue missions: design and flight of nutritious wings," read the title of the research article.

What is the edible drone made of?

Following the vast studies and research, the scientists came to the conclusion that puffed rice cakes adhered with gelatin would make the drone's wings. Since rice cakes sold in stores are typically round, they are laser sliced into hexagons to make them simpler to assemble into the wings. The wing is wrapped in plastic and tape after the gelatin has dried to make sure it won't degrade in moist or muggy conditions.

With a 678 mm wingspan, the edible drone can deliver 300 kcal of nutrition through rice cakes and gelatin. The main structural components of the edible wing were adhered together using edible adhesive, which contains 200 kcal per 100 g of calories.

Why rice cakes are ideal for drone wings?

The choice of rice cakes for this idea was made after considering their many advantages. A rice cookie is made by puffing rice grains under high pressure and heat, which greatly reduces their weight in comparison to other culinary ingredients.

Laser cutting can also be used to quickly manufacture a rice cookie. A kilogram of rice cookies contains 3870 calories. Although it has fewer calories than chocolate and candy, the other sweets have densities that are up to eight times higher than that of a rice cookie, making them unsuitable for aerial delivery by drone.

Additionally, rice cookies have a similar nutritional profile to other staple meals like oats, barley, and pasta. However, because they are less dense, rice cookies are a better choice for the edible-winged drone's material.