Festo SmartBird - Bird flight deciphered

[Ashitaka255]

Hmm... I want to see a version without the vertical stabilizer.

[fornello123]

3:59 Cool, they even have a token minority female to sit in the corner!

[sinclairopaline]

@fornello123 Politicall correctness? 

[LikesBlackPeople]

@0chappell it wouldn't be able to because it rely's on friction created by the wings pushing against the air. Since there is no friction like that in space it would need artificial friction like a rocket to be propelled

[dannyalexandro]

The engineers are not British hence this video must be a fake.

[davidpena1978]

@dannyalexandro : Its real, the company is festo, they are not brithish are german

[wmoecke]

Wann können wir annehmen, einen Bausatz für uns einer SmartBird-modell zu bauen verfügbar ist?

[RustyRazor2010]

Made you wonder at first with the upload date of April 1...

[tetsugal]

Amazing! This is so exiciting, I hope they're working on a Smartbird 2, increasing speed, manouverability or even adding foldable wings.

[Kleenex2k]

@tetsugal I was thinking the same, imagine a smartbird which could land on the water like a seagull.

[tomjunk1965]

Skynet is here,,, Terminators to be dispatched next Summer... Enjoy

[gypblood]

Imagine a flock of these flying in formation form boarder patrol

[mitciclope]

that's simply amazing!

Nice to know that exist such a nice place where creativity have so important role :)

[pierre210765]

Leonard de Vinci dreamed it, you build it ! Congratulation for this bird. I Hope you will develop it for modelism in a near future.

Thanks for this film

[AgrivatedKillah]

I wish the USA didn't pay off a lot of European countries to scrap their technologies smfh.

[MrHelidude]

I love "SmartBird" .

I wish I that I had one. Most beautiful bird ...... :-)

[LibertyTreeBud]

Love the bird, I want one.  I hope it will be able to sing.

[Thereisnosp00000n]

Festo, you've raised the bar sky high! Those earlier models were, in my eyes, nothing but helium filled zeppelins and thus not very impressive. This on the other hand is truly a breakthrough in heavier than air models!

(When will I see this in the toy store?)

[twnthepro]

haha they put rudder = not seagull LOL

[irongollem]

@twnthepro A real bird might use his feet for this?

[aronchai]

Very impressive! I've worried in the past that humans are being taken out of engineering as computers do more and more of the work. This video has allayed my fears.

[Danila1]

This is the most amazing achievement I have seen in years. Festo has outdone itself with the SmartBird. Congratulations!!

[hackneysaregreat]

Can't get enough of this video. What a truly great and absolutely amazing achievement!

[ToXedVirus1]

the quick fix was so awesome :D

"After countless hours of engineering and collaboration with other engineers, I took a piece of paper, glued to the butt and made it fly"

[heto8youol]

IAN THIS IS PRETTY GAY

[DeadXRiders]

i wanna work there!

[pinzgauernorcal]

Its only missing one thing, Feathers.

[viesitis]

Fantastic work !!!!

[ganyita]

If you are able to do such amazing things using your Bionic Learning Network... Why not using that same method to develop and design entire cities and economic systems??... The Venus Project... a resource based economy.... That will be the answer.... watch "Zeitgeist Moving Forward" .... if such a wonderful company as Festo works towards something as The Venus Project, that will be the biggest technical and social revolution ever....

[ganyita]

truly amazing, truly inspiring... wonderful..

[paulflute]

wonderful stuf.. i'd like to see them put super light weight photovoltaic sheets on the back.. it would look like a scandinavian black back and might power itself.. should the tail not be more dynamic though.. wouldn't that increase stability and lift.. as it does in gulls..? truely inspiring sight..

[roidroid]

i wonder what would happen if they just increased the power of the engine up from 23 watts to a few hundred watts.

perhaps they could carry heavy objects through the air, a payload.

[xiaopingzhao]

AMAZING!

[jfernandmy]

Beautiful, astonishing engineering Festo! Inspired by Nature inspires mind and soul!

[jfernandmy]

This video inspires mind, soul and spirit. Following your steps, Festo!

[sinanmalta]

excellent job. well done.

[sinanmalta]

excellent job.

[OBOGAN]

oh ,an english version is already her ,cool ^^

Very nice !

[RC534]

Wow... just wow. Having an engineering education I cannot begin to stress what an achievement this is. Amazing!

[BundleOfBurlap]

Leonardo da Vinci would be proud.

[3Dhappens]

I would like to see them try make it in the size of a dragon, so that it can carry a human. wouldn't that be cool? future of flying vehicles, not with loud engine , but like birds.

[roidroid]

@3Dhappens Perhaps this design could be used to just make a highly efficient wingsuit that humans can WEAR.

And considering this one only uses 23 watts, perhaps it could be human powered (at least partially, it could also carry onboard power).

[Vlakpage]

@roidroid I don't know if it's efficient when you need 23 W to fly something over 400 grams. And the battery has only 3 Watthours, so it can fly only for a few minutes like RC planes. Scaling it to carry human would require several hundred W, so human powering wouldn't be enough. Also think how large battery would you need for reasonable long flight. I think all the servo movement consumes too much energy. There was the rigid ultralight human powered plane over English Channel and it barely flew

[hiflyer358]

@3Dhappens In time, I hope. In time!

[Ashitaka255]

@3Dhappens would still have loud engines.

[Nadirion1]

US Army would be very interested

[Skydive4ever]

Pretty cool, I wonder if they got their part at HobbyKing, lol

[bassoon1997]

Just. Wow

You guys always seem to leave me speechless maybe one day you can modify the smart bird to fly on it's one and in flocks without human interaction

You guys are amazing

[anaispollo]

Those mechanics are just beautiful.. I wish I was less of a literary person and more of a scientific one u.u'

[SamPenStudios]

Amazing! simply amazing! I'm just a bit disappointed it took sooo many years to finally get it right :P