Robotic Seagulls Take Flight

Flying robotic seagulls have taken flight from a company called Festo, which has a history in developing mind-boggling, biologically-inspired bots like flying penguins and jellyfish.

Our friends at IEEE first reported on the SmartBird this week, which is part of Festo’s 2011 Bionic Learning Network projects. The autonomously flying robo-gull weighs less than half a kilo and lands using its 2 meter-long wings. By analysing SmartBird’s flow characteristics, Festo hopes to gain insights that it can transfer to the development and optimization of hybrid driving technology.

Watch a video of the bird in action here:

Story by Courtney Boyd Myers

Courtney Boyd Myers is the founder of audience.io, a transatlantic company designed to help New York and London based technology startups gr (show all) Courtney Boyd Myers is the founder of audience.io, a transatlantic company designed to help New York and London based technology startups grow internationally. Previously, she was the Features Editor and East Coast Editor of TNW covering New York City startups and digital innovation. She loves magnets + reading on a Kindle. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter @CBM and Google +.