A robot that flies like a bird

[cybereye]

http://www.ted.com/talks/a_robot_that_flies_like_a_bird.html

Plenty of robots can fly -- but none can fly like a real bird. That is, until Markus Fischer and his team at Festo built SmartBird, a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull, that flies by flapping its wings.

 

[redrumloa]

Wow, that is amazing!

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

http://www.ted.com/talks/a_robot_that_flies_like_a_bird.html

Doesn't seem to be much beyond a classic ornithoptor.

 

[Glaucus]

My cat would love that!

 

[Karlos]

Doesn't seem to be much beyond a classic ornithoptor.

Heh, spot the Dune fan

Seriously though, ornithopters have been around a while (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithopter)

Aside from looking a bit more like a bird, what makes this one different?

 

[Robert]

Outstanding.

 

[cecilia]

da Vinci would love this

 

[cybereye]

da Vinci would love this

Very true, the best part is no human is flying it.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Very true, the best part is no human is flying it.

Students from University of Toronto built a human powered ornithoptor a year ago.

 

[cybereye]

Students from University of Toronto built a human powered ornithoptor a year ago.

It show that it fly when it flapping, but it still needed to tow. It would be cool if it can take off without the need to tow.