As drone usage becomes more widespread, one company has created the Bionic Bird which resembles a real bird in every single way.
Quite quickly, we are seeing drones go from just an enthusiast’s passion to a serious form of surveillance and product transport. However, a huge problem with these unmanned drones is that not only can they be big, clunky and rather unsightly, but their size (and the spinning rotors that many come equipped with) can be a serious source of danger.
So if we want to use drones to undertake some serious, stealthy spying or if we want to move things from one place to another safely, this is a problem that’s going to have to be eliminated. With the Bionic Bird, one team may have just found a solution.
As the name suggests, the big selling point about the Bionic Bird is that it’s biomimetic. What that means is that it mimics a real bird; from its aerial control to the way that it flaps its wings. So convincing is its bird-like movement that the Bionic Bird can even successfully trick other birds into thinking that it’s one of them.
And that’s a huge deal. Not just for the aforementioned health and safety reasons (arguably, actual birds are less likely to get hurt by a drone with wings instead of rotors and if it’s something they don’t feel threatened by) but because it’s less likely to get knocked out of the sky, it helps the drone better serve its purpose.
It’s also handy that the Bionic Bird is controlled via Bluetooth 4.0. You can control it from your smartphone or tablet (iOS for now, Android support will go live early next year) so you’ll be able to walk around and fly it instead of being cemented behind a control booth. One downside to this is that it only has a range of 100 meters, so that’s something to be considered.
This all said, the Bionic Bird Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign is up and running, having already surpassed its $25,000 goal (it sits at $100,000 at the time of writing). The device will retail for $149 but securing one through Indiegogo will bag you one for $100 with guaranteed delivery before Christmas.
Source: Bionic Bird Indiegogo Page
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