These wings are obviously very thin, light and flexible. The battery is also a lithium-polymer one, which can deliver a lot of power for a short duration (eg: 2

These wings are obviously very thin, light and flexible. The battery is also a lithium-polymer one, which can deliver a lot of power for a short duration (eg: 20 watts for 5 minutes). With current tech, it wouldn't be possible for this robot. I also don't think it would be possible for this robot to generate enough power to keep flying continuously, even if you had 100% efficient ultra-light solar cells. All of that being said, there are solar-powered drones with large static wings out there, typically based on glider designs. We can also imagine a design where a drone lands and recharges using solar power for ten minutes, and then flies for a short one-minute trip. With the fly-inspired design in this video, it could probably take off vertically.