A student-led club at JSS Science and Technology University in Mysuru – Advanced Integrated Systems for Cybernetics (AISC) – drew the attention of visitors to the recent Open Day at the college premises with their bird-like ornithopter, dog-like robots and other creations.

The members of the Club design and build projects that combine mechanical design, embedded control, and adaptive algorithms to replicate biological behaviours, creating dog-like robots, insect-inspired hexapods, and bird-like ornithopters. 

The club showcased ‘Jatayu’, a bird-inspired ornithopter surveillance drone, a robot dog, and a 6-axis robotic arm adaptable for multiple industrial applications during the ‘Open Day’ held at the university’s campus in Mysuru on June 6.

“Jatayu is a lightweight ornithopter inspired by bird flight, utilising flapping wings for efficient, low-noise propulsion and natural manoeuvrability. Its airframe is reinforced with carbon fibre and features flexible foam wing sections. A compact brushless actuator drives the wing flapping, while a small pusher propeller provides supplementary thrust for climb and cruise.”

“Equipped with a GPS and a downward-facing camera module, Jatayu can perform waypoint navigation, automated survey passes, and visual reconnaissance. The autopilot fuses GPS fixes with inertial sensors for stable flight while the camera streams live video and records geotagged images, enabling mapping, search missions, or inspection tasks with the ornithopter’s birdlike agility,” said a statement.

The other project – RoboDog – is a “nimble quadruped built for agility and interaction, combining a lightweight plain skeletal frame with compact servos at each joint for quick, precise motions. Its modular leg design uses compliant joints. Onboard power management and a low-centre-of-gravity layout keep the robot stable during rapid turns and terrain changes,” the statement said.

The AISC club promotes hands-on learning through workshops, interdisciplinary teams, and competitions, while encouraging research in sensing, actuation, and system integration.