A German engineering firm says it has developed a robotic seagull so lifelike it fooled real birds into believing it was part of the flock.
The company, Festo, says its ultralight flapping-wing robot SmartBird can take off, fly and land autonomously.
A YouTube video of a demonstration flight of the robot at a technology conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, showed it flying above a crowd of attendees and attracting a nearby flock of birds, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Weighing less than a pound with a wingspan of 6-1/2 feet, the robot later flew indoors at the Technology Entertainment and Design conference, receiving a standing ovation from the assembled technology enthusiasts.
"The audience watches in awe as the robotic SmartBird -- powered simply by the motion of its wings -- takes flight over their heads in the TEDGlobal theater," Festo said in a YouTube post.
"We try to mimic nature," Festo designer Markus Fischer said.
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