Access

News and Views

Nature 392, 757-758 (23 April 1998) | doi:10.1038/33796

Open Innovation Challenges

naturejobs

Biological sensors:  Controlling the fly's gyroscopes

Roland Hengstenberg1

True flies — such as hoverflies or the blow fly Calliphora vicina — have breathtaking aerobatic capabilities due to a very elaborate flight apparatus. Not only do they beat their wings up to 150 times per second, but they have a gearbox with three gears in the wing joint1, and use non-stationary aerodynamics to generate exceptionally large flight forces2.

  1. Roland Hengstenberg is at the Max-Planck-Institut für Biologische Kybernetik, Spemannstrasse 38, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany, and at the Institute for Advanced Study, Wallotstrasse 19, D-14193 Berlin, Germany.
    e-mail: Email: roland.hengstenberg@tuebingen.mpg.de