Aerial robot with ‘elephant trunk’ developed for complex mid-air manipulation tasks

Professor Peng Lu and his team at the University of Hong Kong have developed the Aerial Elephant Trunk (AET), a groundbreaking aerial manipulator inspired by an elephant’s trunk. Unlike traditional drone arms, the AET is highly flexible, capable of changing shape and grasping objects of various sizes using its entire body. This innovation allows it to perform complex tasks in tight or cluttered environments, such as disaster sites and high‑voltage lines, TechXplore has reported. Published in Nature Communications, the research marks a major step forward for aerial robotics and the low‑altitude economy.