Smart Bird
-- posted October 2014 --
The following link (6:20 minutes video) presents a mechanical flying device called Smart Bird developed by the German automation company Festo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_JcKSHUtQ
Although there is a great variety of flying robots/devices/drones, I found this flying device interesting because it is flying like a bird, by flapping a pair of wings. Moreover, the flying is impressively smooth and realistic.
The bird was made of light-weight carbon-fiber and polyurethane foam material, weighing only about 1 lb (450 gr). Powered by 135 brushless motors, the two-meters wings both flap and twist, providing lift and propulsion. The smart bird has abilities to autonomously take off, fly, and land.
P.S. Another blog describes several other biologically inspired systems developed by the Bionic Lab at Festo.