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.
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.
