3 Scientific precursors As long ago as 1490, Leonardo da Vinci built rudimentary flapping wing models in order to come closer to achieving bird flight. In 1889, Otto Lilienthal published the book “Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation: A Contribution Toward a System of Aviation”. In the chapter “The Bird as a Model” Otto Lilienthal describes in detail the flight of the seagull. More recent times have seen the development of ornithopter projects such as that of Professor Dr. James DeLaurier and his research team at the University of Toronto. In 2006 this group succeeded for the first time in taking off from a runway with a flying device powered by a flapping-wing mechanism, complete with pilot. In August 2010, a flying machine propelled by its pilot’s muscle power alone covered a distance of about 150 meters after being towed to flying altitude. Bird flight deciphered In 2011, the engineers of Festo’s Bionic Learning Network developed a flight model that is capable of taking off autonomously and rising in the air by means of its flapping wings alone, without the aid of other devices to provide lift. SmartBird flies, glides and sails through the air. The experience gained with the Bionic Learning projects AirRay and AirPenguin was incorporated into the creation of SmartBird. The objective of the project was to construct a bionic bird modelled on the herring gull. The fascination of building an artificial bird that could take off, fly and land by means of flapping wings alone provided the inspiration for SmartBird’s engineers. Moving air in a specific manner is a core competence of Festo that has been a driving force for the company for more than fifty years. The unusual feature of SmartBird is the active torsion of its wings without the use of additional lift devices. The objective of the SmartBird project was to achieve an overall structure that is efficient in terms of resource and energy consumption, with minimal overall weight, in conjunction with functional integration of propulsion and lift in the wings and a flight control unit in the torso and tail regions. Further requirements were excellent aerodynamics, high power density for propulsion and lift, and maximum agility for the flying craft. Under scientific supervision, an intelligent cybernetic overall design was realised in discrete individual stages.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzczNDE0