Flying Robot Bird Unveiled - Slashdot

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Flying Robot Bird Unveiled 152

Posted by samzenpus on Monday March 28, 2011 @12:36AM
from the getting-the-robot-worm dept.

mikejuk writes "Festo, well known for their biologically inspired robots, have a new creation called SmartBird. It is amazing to watch and all the more amazing when you realize that it flaps its wings and all of the control is via a torsion drive which twists the wings during each flap. The whole thing depends on the constant intervention of the software to keep it under control."

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Flying Robot Bird Unveiled

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What? No Feathers? (Score:5, Interesting)

by camperdave (969942) writes: on Monday March 28, 2011 @01:37AM (#35635508) Journal

Why do no ornithopters employ feather analogs? They all have solid wings. Flight feathers form a check valve, letting air through the wing on the upstroke, and capturing it on the downstroke. This arrangement allows the bird to put a lot less energy into the upstroke (and thus not lose as much altitude). With a solid wing, you wind up pushing the craft down on the upstroke almost as much as you lift it on the downstroke.

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