Robotic Bird Surveillance #FAIL

Surveillance is a huge business in the world, and it equates to billions of dollars in revenue for companies trying to make our every day a little safer. I can promise you, unless you’re in the jungle (even there you can be seen from satellites) that you won’t go one entire day without being captured on camera at least 5 times. It’s just a part of our security enhanced society these days. Many people are constantly trying to make sure that we don’t get too many cameras pointed at us at any given time. It is a bit of a privacy issue to say the least.

However, this company (not named in this video) is trying to take birds eye surveillance to an entirely new level with a monumentally advanced technology that will go unseen by people down on the ground. They are developing a Robotic Bird Surveillance vehicle that will fly above our heads and monitor our every move, or at least that what they are shooting for.

During an exhibition to show off the birds capabilities, things didn’t really go according to plan. At first, in the sky, the bird seemed to be behaving quite realistically. Things went smoothly on the ground and the exhibition proceeded without any major mishaps.

But as the “bird” kept showing off its skills, however shaky and filled with distortion, the vehicle quickly lost its sense of location. The bystanders looked on as the bird started flying lower and lower. Where did it all end? The prototype ended up smashing in to a tree to everyone’s disappointment. I guess the company needs to research and develop just a bit longer to mimic a birds behavior. At least I don’t know of any birds smashing into any trees…