For the SmartBird, Festo was inspired by the herring gull. The ultralight flying model impresses with its outstanding aerodynamics and maximum agility and is able to take off, fly and land without an additional drive.

In doing so, its wings not only beat up and down, but twist in a specific manner. This is done using an active articulated torsion drive, which provides both lift and propulsion. With this functional integration, Festo has technically deciphered bird flight.

Complex regulation and intelligent monitoring
In combination with complex regulation systems, flight efficiency of a degree previously thought of as unattainable has been realised and ensured through ongoing diagnosis: during the flight, data such as wing position and battery charge status are continuously recorded and monitored in real-time.