Robotic bird flies just by flapping it's wings

Festo is a world-wide supplier of automation technology with ample programs in education and training. One of those programs had to do with man's dream of flight.
Humankind always wanted to fly. Mongolfier brothers in 1783 used the hot air baloon. The Wright brothers in 1903 flew the first successful airplane. In the late 30's Whittle/von Ohain developed the first jet. And don't forget the visions of Da Vinci's designs of flight machines during the reinassance. But none paid much attention to the visions of the mythical Daedalus, who's seeked inspiration from the whisdom of nature, i.e. the birds, more than anyone else.




Meet the SmartBird a lightweight flight model with aerodynamic qualities rivalring that of actual birds. Inspired by the herring gull, this bionic construct is able to take-off, fly and land on it's own without any assistance. The wings are able to beat up and down and also twist at specific angles to utilize it's aerodynamic capabilities and respond to real-time navigation requirements. Festo has thus succeeded in creating an energy-efficient technical adaptation of this model from nature.

According to Festo the minimal use of materials and the extremely lightweight construction pave the way for efficiency in resource and energy consumption.

Below is a recent presentation of the project in TEDGlobal 2011 by Markus Fischer, and a great demonstration of the bionic bird soaring above the audience