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SmartBird

Festo's robo-seagull gets standing O at TED

Germany's Festo wowed the audience at TEDGlobal 2011 in Scotland recently by showing off its flying robot seagull.

The bird is made of carbon fiber and polyurethane foam, weighs about 1 pound, and has a wingspan of some 6.5 feet.

It contains a microcontroller, four servo drives, and a lithium polymer battery. Its wings move in a split-stage helical transmission, and their positions are monitored with sensors that relay data to ground operators via a radio link.

Related link • Leonardo da Vinci would love this robo-bird

The audience at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre applauded when the gull was hand-launched, tentatively flapping its wings and then beating the air to circle above the auditorium.

When it obediently returned to its handlers, it got a standing ovation, and again after a second demonstration. Check it out in the video below. … Read more

Leonardo da Vinci would love this robo-bird

Bird flight has fascinated mankind for centuries. German-based Festo now says it has deciphered it by building a robot seagull that flies like the real thing.

SmartBird is inspired by the herring gull and can take off by flapping its wings, and flying and landing autonomously. It moves by flapping and twisting its wings like a gull, and turns its head to steer--see the video below.

Built of carbon fiber and polyurethane foam, SmartBird weighs about 1 pound and has a wingspan of some 6.5 feet.

Though its inner structure recalls the flying machines of Leonardo da Vinci, it also houses a microcontroller, four servo drives, and a lithium polymer battery.

The wings are driven with an exterior rotor motor through a two-stage helical transmission, and the wing positions are monitored with sensors that relay data to ground operators via a radio link.

Festo has done other graceful robo-creatures before including penguins and flying rays. Its flexible Bionic Handling Assistant is inspired by an elephant's trunk. … Read more