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Semi-human powered flight.

AudioShockwav

AudioShockwav

Extraterrestrial
Staff member
Apr 6, 2005
9,512
9,980
593
Nor Cal Sierra Nevada
This kid is inspired.

The Flying Dutchman/

ABOUT THE PROJECT
Right here, on this blog I share everything about my crazy plan to build my own wings. My goal? To fly with it! Something Leonardo DaVinci, my grandfather and I dreamed of for a long time. But this summer I decided to really start building it. This blog is the result of my experiences of the project. You'll find video's, pictures and text on the progress, my inspiration and all your comments and support.
Click to expand...





Watch Dutch mechanical engineer Jarno Smeets take off and fly just by flapping wings of his own invention—like a real bird! It's uncanny.

Smeets developed the wings over an eight-month period. They use a special motion mechanism built around an Android phone and Nintendo Wii controllers. His system allows him to literally start flapping his arms to take off and keep flying.

Like a modern Leonardo da Vinci, Jarno's took notes from nature. His inspiration was the albatross, which he closely observed to learn his takeoff technique:

Just like birds, humans have to amplify their locomotion to get control and get familiar with their new body expansion—the Wings. In my conception this is something which is independent of any hardware of software problem.

So he payed attention and learned how to amplify his moves. The result, as you can see, was a success. This first test took him just over a distance of 328 feet (100 meters) but obviously he's planning to go higher and farther than that.
The mechanism

The wings are relatively simple: lightweight and large enough to sustain his body when enough lift is achieved. It's the flapping mechanism and the haptic controlling system that makes the whole thing work.

Full size

Jarno—who has been featured in print and TV all over Europe—made the harness using aircraft quality aluminum. The harness holds the brushless outrunner motors that power the mechanical propulsion system for the wings. It also contains all the other elements required to steer his invention.

The heart of the system is an Android smartphone. It processes Jarno's arm acceleration and computes the corresponding motor output. The phone is connected to a Seeduino ADK microcontroller, which connects to two Wii Motion Plus and a Wii Nunchuck. These are used to measure the acceleration, motion and all the different parameters required for making the calculations needed for the wing flapping.

After his first successful test, Jarno is ecstatic:: "I have always dreamed about this. But after eight months of hard work, research and testing it all payed off."
Click to expand...


73
Jeff
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

pretty darn spiffy <<More audio>>

but you'll never see my fat azz in one :LOL:

not that it would have a chance of taking off :D
 
made the harness using aircraft quality aluminum. The harness holds the brushless outrunner motors that power the mechanical propulsion system for the wings. It also contains all the other elements required to steer his invention.

The heart of the system is an Android smartphone. It processes Jarno's arm acceleration and computes the corresponding motor output. The phone is connected to a Seeduino ADK microcontroller, which connects to two Wii Motion Plus and a Wii Nunchuck. These are used to measure the acceleration, motion and all the different parameters required for making the calculations needed for the wing flapping.
Click to expand...

Many of the comments show that they think he is providing the power for wing movement with his arms, but that is not the case.

Time will tell.

73
Jeff
 
Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
Got to give the guy credit for doing a good job with the whole deal, and who knows, maybe it will score him a good job with Disney or Dream works.

73
Jeff
 

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