Robot 'bionic' birds fly by flapping wings just like their feathered cousins

The feathered semi-autonomous concept drones aim to show what is possible to achieve with robots 
The winged "bionic concept" drones are made from lightweight materials
Festo

Flapping robot birds complete with plumes of fake feathers have been designed to show how lightweight materials are capable of powering semi-autonomous flight technology.

The winged drones, based on the flying movements of swallows, are a “bionic concept” built by German industrial automation firm Festo, whose menagerie of machines also includes a kangaroo, bats and jellyfish.

The company said the devices, called BionicSwift, were invented to “demonstrate what is possible within robotics”.

Each GPS-controlled bird weighs 42 grams - about the same as a golfball - and have a 68cm wingspan, which Festo said makes the devices capable of flying loops and undertaking tight turns.

Artificial features are connected with carbon quills and overlap to provide the drone with in-flight thrust
Festo

The firm suggests BionicSwifts can “fly safely” indoors, but are also robust enough to withstand outdoor gusts.

However, their range is limited by the tiny battery, motors and 3D-printed gearbox designed to reduce weight, and the flight time is just seven minutes.

The robo-birds were designed to replicate natural flight by using individual overlapping feathers made from lightweight, flexible foam.

Feathers are connected by carbon quills and the beating wings fan out on the upstroke so air can flow through, then the downstroke provides the flight thrust.

An onboard radio beacon communicates with a ground computer that plots the course and navigation on a 3D map, while a tiny on-board chip helps the drone make its own in-flight adjustments if a sudden wind blows it off course.

Steve Sands, Festo’s head of product management and marketing, said designers “used the natural world as a creative spur” to show what was now possible in robotics.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in