[flickr video=5946922159 secret=ef69a57e7b w=525 h=394]
What do you do with a giant robot seagull? Fly it into a flock of real seagulls, obviously. This video was shot by Flickr user ldrose two hours after the live demo of SmartBird inside the auditorium at TEDGlobal. Festo engineers brought the bird outside to Holyrood Park, in central Edinburgh, and sent it up into the sky. Eyewitnesses tell us that, almost immediately, out of an empty sky, SmartBird was swarmed by seagulls, dozens of them, each taking a turn to dive at the giant bird. The video tells the story … and YouTube user finesoftwarewritings captures the whole sequence in the 4-minute clip below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_gJSiwjmp8]
Here’s another SmartBird swarm video, from Paul Kemp-Robertson at Contagious magazine.
PS: One image not photographed, but reported by reliable eyewitnesses: When the SmartBird landed after this flight, its wings were heavily dotted with seagull poop.
Comments (18)
Pingback: Festo's SmartBird Drone Inspired By The Herring Gull | Drone Universities
Pingback: Flapping Wing Aircraft, Is That Possible » Some Interesting Facts
Pingback: some believe we can fly « T&D
Pingback: SmartBird - A robot that flies like a bird | Daatos.com
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED « Online Contact Management « Online Contact Management
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies During the Air At TED | Modern Techie
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED « plasmavslcdreviews.com
Pingback: Today’s Shared Links for July 23, 2011 – Chuqui 3.0
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | GEAR SYNDRO.ME
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | Scripting4U Blog
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | Tech stuff center
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED - Latest Bollywood, Lifestyle, Health, Movies | Ebabaji
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED — NetworqScience Blog
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | Briginfo
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | Ebay shopping tips
Pingback: Festo’s SmartBird Robot Flies Through The Air At TED | PCE Groups, LLC