Any of my friends will tell you, I’m a dork for birds. In particular, it’s the working model of air-viscosity that birds seem to have which intrigues me. Is it instinctual, coming form their genetics? Or is it a function of living their lives in the air, that each bird learns about wind and motion independently of it’s parents?

As is typically the case, I suspect it’s some mixture of the two. Which is rather fascinating, as well.And this leads to some interesting considerations for the future.

First, as we decode the genome of our bird-friends, the genetic information describing their world model will become apparent. With that information (and the requisite leaps and bounds necessary to understand that information) humans should be able to develop some interesting software to facilitate robotic flight. Perhaps ‘robotic’ flight isn’t the way to consider it, but instead some sort of bird-cyborg airplane.

Second, and this is my favorite part, it seems reasonable to suspect that bird brains are well suited to understanding their own flight-physics. Some birds migrate, other birds hunt, or scour the earth for their food, but all birds have to get enough fuel to stay aloft. Certain species move so quickly through the air that they generate 10 G forces during turns. Others are known for flying literally thousands of miles. What is it about the bird brains (and of course the physiology) that allows these feats of endurance?

It seems to me that when we are able to successfully replicate the growth of bird brains in software, and to virtualize environments for those simulated brains to fly around in, that it will be a few short steps to robotic-cyborg-airplanes that deliver our goods and find our missing children. Ah, the future, how do I love thee.

Until then, I’ll have to settle for video cameras strapped to the backs of birds of prey. My favorite part starts at 1:54… enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-_RHRAzUHM