Robot SmartBird Flaps and Flies Like the Real Thing [video] | Hacker News Reader

Robot SmartBird Flaps and Flies Like the Real Thing [video]

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29 pointssasvari12 comments

Even better than the real thing — the video clearly demonstrates the robot bird not flying into all those glass windows like its avian counterpart has been known to do.

Does anyone know how this compares to fixed-wing aircrafts in terms of energy efficiency?

So, is that were we are? We have robot birds now? I'm convinced that pretty soon all privacy will end, because we'll have self-controlled fly (as in the animal) robot drones that will be able to record their journeys. I'm not so much afraid of governments dping this, but of creepy guys.

That said, it looks like this bird can't really fly very well. It doesn't stop flapping its wings to glide, and it looks like it can't control its angle of ascent very well.

However, I'm sure it'll look and fly exactly like a real bird (even flocking, perhaps) within a few years.

Actually, it does glide. Check out from 0:16.

It doesn't show it alternating flapping and gliding, though, the gliding footage is just of it gliding. Look at the rest of the footage, it keeps flapping its wings until it stalls. It doesn't seem to be able to control its flight path.

Yes, but it physically can flap to fly, and it physically can glide. Making it do so alternately is just a matter of software.

Not that I'm underestimating the difficulty of bird-control software (especially in wind), but I think the most difficult part of this invention is the physical mechanism and getting it to fly at all.

Oh, I agree, that's why I think they'll be indistinguishable from real birds in a couple of years.

I had one of those when I was a kid, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0UK4mTTRsw

Here is a longer (~half hour) making-of video. Really interesting.

http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/11369_11468.htm#id_11468

This is slightly less spooky than BigDog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

big dog uses RL while this bird robot do not have any learning abilities (at least nothing is said about it) and is just a remote controlled unit.

Be sure to check out the animation. Also its Bionic Handling Assistant & Bionic Tripod is amazing as well, reminds me of Dr. Octopus ;)

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