|
Festo
SmartBird
Main Page
|
BirdKit.com
If
you don't know Festo, you don't know the AirPenguin, AirRay,
or the AirJelly, and now you'd be missing the masterful bio-mimicry
of Festo's SmartBird flight model, which the company says
attains "an unprecedented level of efficiency in flight operation."
SmartBird is Festo's latest aerial creation: a polyurethane
foam and carbon fiber ornithopter inspired by the herring
gull.
The
6.5-foot-wingspan aircraft weighs about one pound and is capable
of taking off, flying and landing autonomously. Festo says
the complex system that powers and controls SmartBird has
"succeeded for the first time in creating an energy-efficient
technical adaptation of this model from nature." SmartBird's
structure is carbon fiber and polyurethane foam that houses
an exterior rotor motor, which drives the wings through a
two-stage helical transmission. The rest of SmartBird's guts
include four servo drives, a micro-controller and a lithium
polymer battery. In flight as an ornithopter the craft's wings
beat up and down, but also twist at specific angles driven
by what Festo calls an "active articulated torsional drive
unit," which creates impressive maneuverability. The company
says analysis of SmartBird's flow characteristics provided
additional knowledge for the optimization of its product solutions.
Festo develops advanced structures including optimized flow
cylinders and valves. The company describes itself as committed
to achieving the optimal energy utilization of machines and
equipment inspired by the principles of nature.
SmartBird
is an ultralight but powerful flight model with excellent
aerodynamic qualities and extreme agility. With SmartBird,
Festo has succeeded in deciphering the flight of birds. This
bionic technology- bearer, which is inspired by the herring
gull, can start, fly and land autonomously – with no additional
drive mechanism. Its wings not only beat up and down, but
also twist at specific angles. This is made possible by an
active articulated torsional drive, which in conjunction with
a complex control system makes for unprece - dented efficiency
in flight operation. Festo has thus succeeded for the first
time in realising an energy-efficient technical adaptation
of the natural model.
Main
Page
|
BirdKit.com
|
