charley and i met sunday and made some good progress on our project. our plan is mapped. we ordered parts, and we tinkered with a prototype of a wing. see a little video
some email exchange action too:
part one:
one giant bird made of lightweight material with a wingspan in the 4 to 5 foot range. the wings would have a reflective quality. this bird would hang from the ceiling and otherwise be independent. underneath the bird would be a fan whose motor would be hooked to a power supply and an arduino. the arduino would have a light sensor attached.
part two:
a solar panel would collect energy and store it in a 6v battery that runs to a series of led lights and a motion detector (this comes as an assembled product). the led lights would glow at the underbelly of the bird where the reflective qualities would light (thinking there is some sort of spray that glows or reflects?) but also trigger the light sensor to ignite the motor of the fan. the fan would then blow air creating lift in the wings of the bird.
subject to small refinements and alterations. we’re ordering parts and researching materials currently, not in that order.
all good in the hood for now. we should be in nice shape for next week….hopefully.