We lag behind nature in many areas, and constantly need to remind ourselves of our relative ignorance of her many secrets. Feathers are a case in point, and Stanford University researchers found that, unable to duplicate the nature of these lightest of airborne structures, they needed to use the real thing in their latest drone. The IEEE Spectrum reports, “The few attempts at making artificial feathers that we’ve seen in the past have been sufficient for a few specific purposes but haven’t really come close to emulating the capabilities that real feathers bestow on the wings of birds. So a century later, we’re still doing the rigid wings with discrete flappy bits, while birds (one has to assume) continue to judge us for our poor choices.” A Feathery Primer Before looking at Stanford University’s Pigeonbot, we will indulge a few minutes learning how complex a seemingly simple feather really is. Those wishing to delve deeper can turn to a marvelous book by Thor …