Festo SmartBird
SmartBird is the name of an ultralight flight model that was developed as part of Festo's Bionic Learning Network with a focus on favorable aerodynamics and maximum agility. In April 2011 the SmartBird was presented to the public at the Hanover Fair .
particularities
With the SmartBird, the flapping of the natural bird's wings was technically solved by bionics and thus the flight of birds was deciphered. Unlike previous flapping wing devices ( ornithopters ) , the biomechatronic technology carrier derived from the herring gull can take off, fly and land by itself without additional propulsion. Its wings not only flap up and down, but also twist in a targeted manner. This is done by an active joint torsion drive, which provides both buoyancy and propulsion.
properties
Function integration
This functional integration of coupled drives provides suggestions and knowledge that can be transferred in automation technology to the development and optimization of hybrid drive technology. Possible areas of application range from lifting vane generators for energy generation to actuators in process automation.
Aerodynamics and efficiency
The SmartBird is also used to document control and regulation processes to increase efficiency in flight operations: measurements could determine electromechanical efficiency levels of up to 45% and aerodynamic efficiency levels of up to 80%. The findings in the field of aerodynamics and flow behavior from SmartBird can help to develop new components for automation technology that require less installation space, are flow-optimized and thus become more energy-efficient.
Condition monitoring
During the flight of SmartBird, the data on wing position and wing torsion are continuously recorded. The control parameters of the torsion can be adjusted in real time during the flight and thus optimized. This ensures flight stability and thus the operational safety of the bird.
Energy and resource efficiency
The low use of materials and the lightweight construction in carbon fiber technology enable the energy-efficient movements of SmartBird.
Technical specifications
The technical data of the SmartBird are:
Hull length: | 1.07 m |
Span: | 1.96 m |
Weight: | 0.450 kg |
Battery: | Lithium polymer battery, 2 cells, 7.4 V, 450 mAh |
Servos: | 2 digital servos with 35 N actuating force for head and tail control, 2 digital servos for wing torsion with 45 degrees of travel in 0.03 sec |
El. Power: | 23 watts |
Structure: | Lightweight structure with ribs and spars made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic |
Cladding: | extruded polyurethane foam |
Microcontroller: | Texas Instruments LM3S811 32-Bit ARM - RISC with 50 MHz clock, 64 Kbytes Flash, 8 Kbytes RAM |
Radio transmission: | 868 MHz / 2.4 GHz bidirectional radio transmission according to the ZigBee protocol |
Engine: | Compact 135, brushless |
Sensor technology: | Motor positioning 3 × Hall sensors TLE4906 |
Accelerometer: | LIS302DLH |
Power management: | 2 cell LiPo battery with voltage and current monitoring ACS715 |
LED control: | TPIC 2810D |
Web links
- SmartBird , Festo homepage
- SmartBird , Festo video, 17:44 minutes
- SmartBird , messelive tv, 18:47 minutes
credentials
- ↑ Die Welt : Robot-Bird "SmartBird" flies like a real seagull ( Memento of the original from December 1st, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 4, 2011, accessed September 21, 2011.
- ↑ a b c Festo.com: SmartBird - Vogelflug decrypted , accessed on September 21, 2011.
- ↑ a b c d Festo.com: Festo SmartBird , PDF, accessed on September 21, 2011.