At first glance, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this video as that of a seagull unexpectedly crashing a technology conference.
But the ‘bird’ is actually a drone dubbed the Wind Rider, that’s cleverly designed to look like a real animal.
The incredible robot was showcased during the World Robot Conference in Beijing today.
Cai Yu, CEO of Bee-eater Technology, said: “This robot can only glide with wind or fly with electric power.
“It can fly with no power outage for long time. It is like a real bird, for example, frigate birds can stay in the air for 3 months and some other birds can fly over 10,000 km in 8 days without eating and drinking.
“It has the gliding option, so, the efficiency is high.”
This isn’t the first time that bird-like drones have been showcased in China.
Last year, China launched a flock of high-tech drones that were disguised to resemble doves, over the Xinjiang region.
Sources told the South China Morning Post that more than 30 military and government agencies had deployed the birdlike drones and related devices in at least five provinces in recent years.
Each drone was designed to move like a bird with flapping wings and carries on board a small camera that will beam images back to its controllers.
