German robotic smart bird flies like real gull

[Water Car Engineer]

A German company has developed a gull which can fly like real gulls. Smart Bird, which uses a compact 135 brushless motor, can start, fly and land autonomously. An articulated torsion drive unit allows the bird to beat its wings up and down as well twist at specific angles. Company Fesco built robotic gull from carbon fiber and polyurethane foam, the ultra light Smart Bird weighs 485 grams, operates at 23 watts and can be controlled from the ground using a radio controller.
The German company said that the bird's functional integration of coupled drive units could potentially be transferred to the development and optimization of a range of hybrid drive technology - from generators that derive energy from water to new actuators in process automation.
The minimal use of materials and the bird's lightweight construction also pave the way for efficiency in resource and energy consumption, says Festo.

 

[Leader]

that generation next surveillance birdy !

 

[Archdemon]

It is amazing! the bird is two meters wing span and only 500 gram

 

[Whiplash]

that generation next surveillance birdy !

This bird can never be used for surveillance. Moving wings are a very energy inefficient form of generating life. Hence limitations on range and ability to loiter.
Furthermore, on account of the doppler effect, it'll be much more easily detected by radar

 

[gambit]

This bird can never be used for surveillance. Moving wings are a very energy inefficient form of generating life. Hence limitations on range and ability to loiter.
Furthermore, on account of the doppler effect, it'll be much more easily detected by radar

Whoa...!!! That is so wrong.

First...A bird's moving wings do not just flap up-down. Each wing itself is an absolute marvel of nature's engineering to create a flying machine. The wing twists and flexes in ways that we are still trying to duplicate => Bird Flight

Second...Long wingspan are very conducive to loiter which equals to long range which equals to long flight time. The pelican can stay airborne for up to 24hrs.

Third...While it is possible that the wings' Doppler effect can give away the (real) bird, radars detect real birds by their beaks more than their bodies or their flapping wings. A bird's curvy body is naturally radar conductive and the layers of feathers are natural absorbers. That leave the hard and geometric beak as the best indicator of a bird's EM presence.

If this robotic bird is of the same size as the real gull and if the robot's body is designed to be sufficiently low radar observable as the real gull, it will require a dedicated orthnithologist's radar to pick it up.

 

[Kompromat]

German technology is best in the world , no doubt !

 

[nightcrawler]

already posted with full technical crunch:
http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-photos-multimedia/101284-robo-gull.html