SmartBird is an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

 created by Festo's

Festo

Festo is a German industrial control and automation company based in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. Festo is an engineering-driven company that sells pneumatic and electric transducers primarily to the automation industry.-History:...

 Bionic Learning Network. It is an ornithopter

Ornithopter

An ornithopter is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers seek to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, they are usually built on the same scale as these flying creatures. Manned ornithopters have also been built, and some...

 modeled on the herring gull

Herring Gull

The European Herring Gull is a large gull , and is the most abundant and best known of all gulls along the shores of western Europe. It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic states...

. It has a mass of 450 grams and a wingspan of 1.96 meters.

Smartbird is constructed of polyurethane foam and carbon fiber

Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...

 and is powered by a 135 brushless motor running at 23 watts.

Lift and propulsion

Flight occurs in a manner very similar to that of real birds. The vertical motion of the wings is provided by an electric motor in the body of the bird. It is connected to two wheels that attach to rods in the wings in a manner similar to steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s. Inside the wings are torsional motors that adjust the wings' angle of attack to provide forward motion. Directional control is provided by moving the tail.