Aircraft that Flap their Wings: Hardware Inspired by Biology

The Nano Hummingbird built by Aerovironment Inc.

Recently there has been an outpouring of bio-mimetic flying devices (hardware mimicking bird, insect, and the flight of other living systems). Here are two examples shown in video. The device above was inspired by hummingbirds and the one below by seagulls.

The SmartBird inspired by seagulls and built by Festo.

We should expect some unprecedented autonomous machines as these kinds of bio-mimetic hardware are combined with control systems inspired by how the nervous system works.