SmartBird
SmartBird is an autonomous ornithopter created by Festo's Bionic Learning Network with an emphasis on better aerodynamics and maneuverability. It is an ornithopter modeled on the herring gull. It has a mass of 450 grams and a wingspan of 1.96 meters. In April 2011 the SmartBird was unveiled at the Hanover Fair. The natural wingbeat of a bird was emulated by using bionics technology to decipher bird flight. Based on the flight of a herring gull, Smartbird differs from previous flapping wing attempts in that it can take off, fly and land by itself. Its wings not only beat up and down, but deliberately twist. This is done by an active torsion mechanism, which provides both lift and propulsion. Smartbird is constructed of polyurethane foam and carbon 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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Festo
Festo is a German automation company based in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. Festo produces and sells pneumatic and electrical control systems and drive technology for factories and process automation. Festo Didactic also offers industrial education and consultation services and is one of the sponsors and partners of the WorldSkills Mechatronics Competitions. Sales subsidiaries, distribution centres and factories of Festo are located in 61 countries worldwide. The company was named after its founders Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll. Animal robots Festo is known for making moving robots that move like animals, such as the seagull-like SmartBird, jellyfish, butterflies and kangaroos. In 2018 they also added a flying fox and a rolling spider to the list. Festo calls their Bionic Flying Fox an “ultra-lightweight flying object with intelligent kinematics.” See also * BionicKangaroo * Robotino Robotino is a mobile robot system made by ''Festo Didactic'', and used for ed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ornithopter
An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought 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 flying animals. Larger, crewed ornithopters have also been built and some have been successful. Crewed ornithopters are generally either powered by engines or by the pilot. Early history Some early crewed flight attempts may have been intended to achieve flapping-wing flight, but probably only a glide was actually achieved. They include the purported flights of the 11th-century Catholic monk Eilmer of Malmesbury (recorded in the 12th century) and the 9th-century poet Abbas Ibn Firnas (recorded in the 17th century). Roger Bacon, writing in 1260, was also among the first to consider a technological means of flight. In 1485, Leonardo da Vinci began to study the flight of birds. He grasped that human ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Herring Gull
Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') - Northern Europe * Vega gull (''Larus vegae'') - East Asia Additional species formerly included within this species include: * Armenian gull (''Larus armenicus'') - Caucasus and Middle East * Caspian gull (''Larus cachinnans'') - Eastern Europe and Central Asia * Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ... (''Larus michahellis'') - Southern Europe, North Africa and Middle East Larus Bird common names {{Animal common name ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hanover Fair
The Hannover Messe (HM; "Hanover Fair") is one of the world's largest trade fairs, dedicated to the topic of industry development. It is organized by Deutsche Messe AG and held on the Hanover Fairground in Hanover, Germany. Typically, there are about 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors. The ''Hannover Messe'' started in 1947 in an undamaged factory building in Laatzen, south of Hanover, by an arrangement of the British military government in order to boost the economic advancement of post-war Germany. The first fair was colloquially known as ''Fischbrötchenmesse'' (Fischbrötchen fair) due to the exemptions in food rationing for the fair at this time. It proved hugely successful and was thence repeated on a yearly basis, contributing largely to the success of the Hanover fairground in replacing the then-East German city of Leipzig as the new major fair city for West Germany. The product portfolio includes building automation and technology, coating materials, air compressors ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polyurethane Foam
Polyurethane products have many uses. Over three quarters of the global consumption of polyurethane products is in the form of foams, with flexible and rigid types being roughly equal in market size. In both cases, the foam is usually behind other materials: flexible foams are behind upholstery fabrics in commercial and domestic furniture; rigid foams are between metal, or plastic walls/sheets of most refrigerators and freezers, or other surface materials in the case of thermal insulation panels in the construction sector. Its use in garments is growing: for example, in lining the cups of brassieres. Polyurethane is also used for moldings which include door frames, columns, balusters, window headers, pediments, medallions and rosettes. Polyurethane formulations cover an extremely wide range of stiffness, hardness, and densities. These materials include: * Low-density flexible foam used in upholstery, bedding, automotive and truck seating, and novel inorganic plant substrates fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon composite, or just carbon, are extremely strong and light fiber-reinforced plastics that contain carbon fibers. CFRPs can be expensive to produce, but are commonly used wherever high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness (rigidity) are required, such as aerospace, superstructures of ships, automotive, civil engineering, sports equipment, and an increasing number of consumer and technical applications. The binding polymer is often a thermoset resin such as epoxy, but other thermoset or thermoplastic polymers, such as polyester, vinyl ester, or nylon, are sometimes used. The properties of the final CFRP product can be affected by the type of additives introduced to the binding matrix (resin). The most common additive is silica, but other addi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steam Locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels. In most locomotives, the steam is admitted alternately to each end of its cylinders, in which pistons are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels. Fuel and water supplies are usually carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in a tender coupled to it. Variations in this general design include electrically-powered boilers, turbines in place of pistons, and using steam generated externally. Steam locomotives were first developed in the United Kingdom during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. Richard Trevithick ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Servo Motor
A servomotor (or servo motor) is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration. It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors. Servomotors are not a specific class of motor, although the term ''servomotor'' is often used to refer to a motor suitable for use in a closed-loop control system. Servomotors are used in applications such as robotics, CNC machinery, and automated manufacturing. Mechanism A servomotor is a closed-loop servomechanism that uses position feedback to control its motion and final position. The input to its control is a signal (either analogue or digital) representing the position commanded for the output shaft. The motor is paired with some type of position encoder to provide position and speed feedback. In the simple ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Of Germany
An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be under telerobotic control—remote controlled or remote guided vehicles—or they can be autonomously controlled—autonomous vehicles—which are capable of sensing their environment and navigating on their own. Types There are different types of uncrewed vehicles: * Remote control vehicle (RC), such as radio-controlled cars or radio-controlled aircraft * Unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), such as the autonomous cars, or unmanned combat vehicles (UCGV) * Unmanned ground and aerial vehicle (UGAV), unmanned vehicle with hybrid locomotion methods * Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned aircraft commonly known as "drone" ** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) **Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE) ** Miniature UAV (SUAV) ** Delivery drone ** Micro air vehicle (MAV) ** Target drone * Autonomous spaceport drone ship * Uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |