This Robot Has Artificial Feathers And Flies Like A Real Bird

For years, German automation firm Festo has had a special interest in robots. With the inspiration from Mother Nature, it has designed various robot models that fly, hop, swim like their counterparts in the real world.

Its fleet of robots includes robotic birds, the latest model of which is upgraded with artificial leathers that let it soar through the air with the same agility and maneuverability as an actual bird.

Nearly a decade ago, the company revealed a seagull robot with wings that could flap and bend like those on a real seagull. The robotic bird could stay aloft just by flapping the wings, requiring no propellers or thrust mechanism to generate forward momentum. The robot could also change direction by adjusting the angle of its tail, but its in-air maneuverability was limited.

Dubbed BionicSwift, the latest version of the robotic bird is on a different level. It’s smaller, lighter with a battery that can afford 7 minutes of flight time. There is an electric motor to power the flapping motion of its wings while the other two motors adjust its artificial foam feathers to create realistic in-flight maneuvers.

When the wings move downwards, the feathers form a surface to maximize the power generated to create a lift. When the wings move up, their feathers fan out, increasing the airflow to reduce the energy required for that motion and improve battery life.

In a YouTube video shared by Festo, you can see the robotic bird is also performing a diving maneuver, in which it falls to pick up speed then spreads its wings and heads upwards again.

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