BionicSwift | The World's Most Advanced Robot Bird

They are agile, nimble and can even fly loops and tight turns: the BionicSwifts. The five artificial swallows can move in a coordinated and autonomous manner in a defined airspace by interacting with a radio-based indoor GPS.

With a body length of 44.5 centimetres and a wingspan of 68 centimetres, the bionic birds weigh just 42 grams.

During the wing upstroke, the individual lamellae fan out so that air can flow through the wing. This means that the birds need less force to pull the wing up. During the downstroke, the lamellae close up so that the birds can generate more power to fly. Due to this close-to-nature replica of the wings, the BionicSwifts have a better flight profile than previous wing-beating drives.

The bird’s body contains the compact construction for the wing-flapping mechanism, the communication technology, the control components for wing flapping and the elevator, the tail. A brushless motor, two servomotors, the battery, the gearbox as well as various circuit boards for radio, control and localisation are all installed in a very small space.

Radio-based indoor GPS with ultra wideband technology (UWB) enables the coordinated and safe flying of the BionicSwifts. For this purpose, several radio modules are installed in one room. These anchors then locate each other and define the controlled airspace. Each robotic bird is also equipped with a radio marker. This sends signals to the anchors, which can then locate the exact position of the bird and send the collected data to a central master computer which acts as a navigation system.

This can be used for route planning, so that preprogrammed routes give the birds their flight path. If the birds deviate from their flight path due to sudden changes in environmental influences such as wind or thermals, they immediately correct their flight path themselves and intervene autonomously in this situation – without a human pilot. Radio communication enables exact position detection even if visual contact is partially hindered by obstacles. The use of UWB as radio technology guarantees safe and trouble-free operation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scientists Create a Wearable Sensor for Plant Leaves to Detect Water Loss Early

Image
Plants can't speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs, such as shriveling or browning leaves, don't start until it's too late. Metal electrodes have previously been used to monitor thirsty plants, but it's difficult attaching these devices to hairy leaves, which reduces their accuracy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have created a wearable sensor for leaves that stays put, and makes it easy to remotely manage plants' water stress. Wearable devices for people are so sophisticated that some smart watches monitor the electrical activity of the wearer's heart, using electrodes that sit against the skin, and send the data to websites, which allow physicians to monitor and assess their patients from a distance. Similarly, plant-wearable devices could help farmers and gardeners remotely monitor plant health, including leaf water content – a key marker of metabolism and drought stress. Renato Lima and colleagues wanted to id
Read more

Google DeepMind is Using AI to Teach Robots to Play Soccer

Image
DeepMind, scientists have successfully trained low-cost humanoid robots to play 1v1 soccer. Using advanced techniques like deep reinforcement learning, the team was able to teach these robots agile skills and tactics, bringing us one step closer to having robots perform complex tasks in the real world.                                                                     Watch on YouTube The training process involved two stages, where robots first learned independent skills like getting up from the ground and scoring goals. In the second stage, these skills were combined into a single soccer-playing agent, which improved its tactics through self-play against previous versions of itself. This progress could lead to the development of advanced humanoid robots capable of performing complex tasks across various industries, such as assisting in disaster relief efforts or navigating intricate environments for search and rescue missions. Additionally, the study explores the potential of multi-a
Read more

Disney introduces a charming, roller-skating mechanical rabbit to help guests "emotionally connect"

Image
  Disney debuted a new robot prototype at SXSW Austin, Texas.  Watch on YouTube Designed to look like the bunny rabbit character Judy Hopps from the movie ‘Zootopia,’ the robot was unveiled by climbing out of a box, rollerblading across the stage and doing somersaults. She’s the size of a little girl, but has big droopy ears like a rabbit, and is wearing roller skates.  On shaky legs, she manages to stand up and regain her balance. With her first moves, it’s obvious she’s already formed an emotional connection with the audience. And with this, the little bunny robot does a front flip and bumps her head before recovering and finding her footing again. She’s then picked up and propped onto her creator’s shoulders like a child.
Read more