Miscellaneous

Final demonstration video of autonomous "Precision Emplacement of Payloads" project for DARPA TTO. The V-Bat VTOL UAV is now equipped with a lightweight robotic arm that is guided by an on-board stereo vision system. The arm can reach 6 ft from the aircraft and precisely emplace a 1 lb payload on a specific fixed target.

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Article "Eagle-eyeing researchers design swooping quadrotors with claws"

by Nancy Owano
March 17, 2013

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In this video, Stanford Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor David Lentink discusses his study of flight. Professor Lentink hopes to build flying robots that are able to fly in complex environments.

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On February 23rd 2013 the inventor of this amazing machine passed away in a car accident. Sadly the SK Ornithopter goes with him. Thank you for your invention Sean. You will be missed

The original Sean Kinkade (SK) Park Hawk! Version 1! What an amazing machine. Its hard to believe when you first see it, but it is the easiest thing to fly and has proven to be quite robust. Robert found this gem hanging from the roof of one of our local hobby shops and had to pick it up. I had been eyeing it for quite a while and maybe I should have picked it up. Either way its a joy to witness and to fly.

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A free flight rubber powered ornithopter designed and built by Ray Harlan. This is a unique bi-wing canard
design intended for duration indoor flights using ultralight construction.
Ray's ornithopter achieved a record time in Cat IV -(Buildings with a ceiling higher
than 30m or 98'-5") of 19min 45sec in 1995.
Roy White currently holds the Cat IV record at 21m44s.
This demonstration flight took place at Lakehurst in Hanger No. 1 with a ceiling
height of over 170 ft. Ray is using a partial motor. The clip begins
with Ray winding the rubber motor to the desired torque, carefully mounting the loaded motor onto
the frame and launching it.

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A new device invented by David Lentink, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, will answer long-held questions about the forces birds generate while flying, and could lead to the development of innovative, efficient unmanned aerial vehicles.

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Some of our favourite moments of Hummingbirds recorded in slow motion.

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Made from a pattern that can be printed at home, low-cost hobby-store servos, and an Intel Galileo development board. Worry birds monitor “worries” on Twitter (words or trends that the builder sets.) The bird’s behavior changes to reflect the level of “worry” so you know if you should relax or get online!
For the past year, I’ve worked on technology projects to encourage novices to engage with programming and physical computing. Low-cost microcontrollers create a new realm of development and product design opportunities that can empower anyone, if they are willing to take the first step.
Sometimes engagement takes the form of a software tool for novices, and sometimes it’s a project that is designed to catch attention, and get novices excited to take that first step into electronics and prototyping.
Worry Birds are the second type: They are designed to capture attention, and get people thinking about the possibilities of combining physical form, character and movement with online data. Worry birds are easily recreated from an online pattern and home printer. The movement is made possible by servos and simple sensors that allow the birds to “see.” Worry birds also monitor “worries” on Twitter through simple code that’s easy to modify. The program can be customized to to make each bird “worry” about whatever it’s maker wants.
This design was guided by two opposing forces, maximize visual complexity and expressive behavior, while making the actual pattern and construction process as simple and low-cost as possible. The movement is intended to capture attention and engage the imagination.

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Do-it-yourself papercraft and basic components give these Worry Birds their structure, but it’s Intel Galileo that truly makes them wise. The Worry Birds, created by Lucas Ainsworth, use sensors to follow you with their heads, while connecting to the web to track hashtags and flap their wings as the hashtags trend online.

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The Orniplane, developed by Percival Spencer and Jack Stephenson, was the world's first radio-controlled ornithopter, or flapping-wing aircraft. This video gives some history of the Orniplane as well as technical details and a short biography.

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Around 1960, Percival Spencer successfully flew a series of unmanned ornithopters using internal combustion engines ranging from 0.020-to-0.80-cubic-inch (0.33 to 13.11 cm3) displacement, and having wingspans up to 8 feet (2.4 m).[8] In 1961, Percival Spencer and Jack Stephenson flew the first successful engine-powered, remotely piloted ornithopter, known as the Spencer Orniplane.[9] The Orniplane had a 90.7 inches (2,300 mm) wingspan, weighed 7.5 pounds (3.4 kg), and was powered by a 0.35-cubic-inch (5.7 cm3)-displacement 2-stroke engine. It had a biplane configuration, to reduce oscillation of the fuselage.

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Maiden flight of my 3rd generation Ornithopter design...
Wingspan : 122 inches ( 3.1 Meter )
weight : 3.2 lbs ( 1450 Grams )
battery : 1200mah 45C 4 cell lipo
flapping rate and flapping Amplitude : reduced as precaution during maiden flight
Wing glide lock : not yet installed.
Head and body cover is temporary, unfinished paint job.

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Ornithopter homebuilt model.
Leonardo da Vinci's codex on the flight of birds
Design and construction of Pollastri Italy

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Product Info: The Zippi Pets Hummingbirds from Prime Time Toys are cute little electronic hummingbirds that can be perched on their included little stands or put into flight. But first you’ll need to charge them up. Each bird comes with an included USB cord, which you can plug into the side of your bird and the other end into a port on your computer or compatible outlet. When charging, the indicator light will blink red and shut off once your bird is fully charged. Once charged, perch your bird on its stand and press the on/off button. Your hummingbird will tweet to let you know its ready for play.
To start engaging with your little hummingbird, tap on its head (as bird owners know—birds love a good head rub). Tap once for tweets, twice for a short song, and three times to send your hummingbird flying. Like a real hummingbird, this toy features some super fast flying wings to send your birdie flying straight up in the air. To keep your bird in flight, simply place your hand under the bird to keep it hovering. Once your birdie has had enough flying time, it will tweet three times to let you know it’s done. Catch it and place it back on its perch.

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Large robotic parrot mounted in a hanging rotating grass hut.

Includes a 7 function robotic parrot and everything needed to produce your own professional shows!

Starting at $4,500.00 for non commercial applications.

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Product Info: Hummingbirds are so fast that sometimes you miss them. But not anymore when you've got your own hummingbird friend with Flutter Friends. There are six different birds to collect, each with its own color scheme and name, such as Sugar, Emerald, Melody, Honeysuckle, Jewel, and Nectar. Each is sold separately.

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