Insects and birds have perfected their flying skills for millions of years, and can provide engineers with inspiration to improve the performance and capabilities of (especially unmanned) aerial vehicles. Starting from a discussion of flight in nature, this lecture will provide an introduction to some of the many bio-inspired solutions that are being applied in the aerial robotics field. This will include design solutions, flight mechanisms, and navigation and control approaches. As this topic is an active research domain, part of the lecture will be dedicated to discussing recent research developments At the end of the lecture, students should have a basic understanding of the concept of bioinspiration and of typical bioinspired approaches used in aerial robotics. Additionally, students will have encountered a number of examples of recent bioinspired aerial robotics research. Course outline: 1. The bioinspiration approach: learning from and about nature 2. Avian flight - Gliding and soaring - Wing morphing 3. Flapping-wing flight - Kinematics & aerodynamics - Dynamics & control - Modelling & experiments 4. Bio-inspired solutions for aerial robots - Actuation & design - Sensing & control - Navigation 5. Bio-inspired capabilities and behaviours - Perching and environment interaction - Aerial-aquatic mobility 6. Current research outlook