The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is testing a chopper that has four legs that resemble legs of an insect. Standard helicopters generally need flat surfaces to land, but these robotic legs can make lending on uneven surface stable and easier.

These insect-like legs can fold up when helicopter is flying. During its landing, the four legs spread and determine the right angle to land. The robotic legs use force-sensitive contact sensors to find a perfect spot to land in real time.

While providing information on the new invention, the agency of the United States Department of Defense said, “The experimental demonstration showed that one of the potential benefits included landing and take-off on sloping terrain of up to 20 degrees, more than twice current limits”.

The robotic legs not only help in landing on an uneven surface, but also reduce the risk of damages during hard landings. It has the ability to land on ships in seas, DARPA said.

The robotic legs allow the chopper to perform some difficult and highly dangerous acts that a standard helicopter cannot carry out, according to the agency. The new project of the robotic legs is part of the agency’s Mission Adaptive Rotor (MAR) program. The chopper with robotic legs can be used for militaristic purposes and for a number of other practical applications during event of a natural disaster.