Man has always dreamt about flying. Bionic Bird? Is it really a biological bird? No, it is the world’s first smartphone-controlled drone that resembles and flies like a real bird. This is our review.
History of the Bionic Bird Drone
What started off a child’s dream in 1969 has now come to reality. The Bionic Bird Drone is a flying robot that was developed by a French startup led by an inventor by the name Edwin Van Ruymbeke (aeronautic engineer).
“Today my dream is to create a Bionic Bird for the 21st century”, says Ruymbeke.
The Bionic Bird is an ornithopter drone which means that it is designed to fly by flapping it’s wings.
After the huge success of Bionic Bird especially on Kickstarter, Ruymbeke went ahead to create other ornithopter drones such as the Avitron and Metafly. The Metafly looks more of an insect than a bird, fun isn’t it?
How the Bird Drone Works
The Bionic Bird mechanism is built around the science of ornithopter gadgets which was a brainchild of the legendary Leornado Da Vinci.
The biomimetic bird is app-controlled using Android and Apple IOS devices which have Bluetooth 4.0 link. This is capable of supporting a range of up to 100 meters.
The bird can thus be controlled in an agile and intuitive way simply by tilting the phone in the desired direction and using touch controls to regulate speed. This is achieved by the power offered by the smartphone’s magnetometer and accelerometer.
It is the only drone that rarely scares biological birds which can be attributed to its mechanical flattering capability. Ironically, predators have been observed to swoop in close to find out if it can qualify as a potential meal.
Features of Bionic Bird Drone
- Flying Speed: 4 to 12 mph
- Flight Time: 8 mins
- Charging time: 12 mins
- Range: 350 feet
- Flying modes: 4
- Weight: 0.33oz
- App Compatibility: iPhone 4S and later and Android 4.3 and higher
- 1 egg (portable charger) – 800 mAh
Our Bionic Bird Drone Review
After flying this robot bird for a couple of hours we really had so much fun. However, it was not easy to fly at first but that is where the fun lies trying to learn something new.
The Bird’s body is made of carbon fiber and elastic foam which are strong enough to survive impacts during landing and accidental crashes.
The drone has a small and lightweight onboard 50 mAh lithium polymer battery which plays an important role in ensuring its weight falls to a mere 9 g. However, the drone comes with an external egg-shaped ‘Turbo-Charge®’ portable charger with a staggering capacity of 800 mAh.
In our Bionic Bird Drone review we found that charging the external battery for about 12 minutes provides enough juice for a total of 10 eight-minute-long flights.
The inventor says that the bird is driven by a 0.8 watts electric motor rotating at 55000 rpm. The bird can attain a speed of 12 mph and thus can be flown in moderately windy conditions (10 knots).
The wings flap at the rate of 18 flaps per second. The bird is also capable of reaching a height of 100 meters while performing aerial stunts.
It was found to be a really good drone for flying both indoors and outdoors especially at such times as now. However, it was not easy to fly from the word go and one has to practice to get it right and have fun.
The good thing is that it comes with two spare wings which give one some space to make some flying errors without worrying much.
It does not have a camera which is understandable at its price range.
Pros
- A portable egg charger
- Fast up to 12 mph
- Average flight time at 8 mins
- Good flying range at 350 feet
- Can fly both indoors and outdoors
Cons
- Not easy to fly at first
- No camera
You must be thinking, this must be very expensive. Not really, it is competitively priced at around $102 which shows that the inventor had affordability in mind. You can check it’s current price or buy it on Amazon.
The package comes with the Bionic Bird Drone, 1 portable charger (egg), 1 USB cord to charge the egg, 2 spare wings, and a bag of aluminum tapes for balancing the wings.
The bird’s development team is now focusing on expanding its size and capabilities. This will include smooth control by using a remote-controlled tail, improved stable stationary flight as well as a high-resolution camera.
This will give birth to the ultimate spy drone which will blend in nature.
You can order BionicBird on Amazon by clicking HERE.
Final Remarks
Our indpendent Bionic Bird Drone review revealed that this drone is indeed an amazing flying device to say the least. It might be challenging to fly at first but once one gets on the drill it is a lot of fun. Just don’t give up too soon.
The future of drones is to have devices that will blend into nature to avoid such unfortunate instances as scaring away birds or even hurting them.
This is the furtive drone and it will offer the ultimate flying experience to mankind. Did you kNOw that a Bionic Bird was in existence? Now you know.
Ooh, By the way, NASA says there is liquid water on Mars, just wish the Bionic Bird was capable of taking us there!!