Dutch Artist Admits Faking Viral 'Human Bird Wing' Video

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Dutch Artist Admits Faking Viral 'Human Bird Wing' Video

Posted by timothy on Thursday March 22, 2012 @10:50AM from the hey-that's-just-like-my-911-call dept.

Velcroman1 writes "Dutch filmmaker and animator Floris Kaayk in collaboration with media production company Revolver fessed up to creating a 'media art project' that took the world by storm in recent days — a video of inventor Jarno Smeets taking flight by flapping his arms. But like the wax melting from Icarus' wings, the truth is finally emerging. Kaayak admitted that he didn't expect the media attention his project would generate, with over 8.9 million views across the world. He made the project in collaboration with Revolver and Omroep NTL, sources in the Netherlands who have spoken to the filmmaker said prior to the show. They admitted their hoax Thursday evening on the Dutch television show Wereld Draait Door."

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Not Surprising. by biohazard35 · 2012-03-22 10:53 · Score: 5, Insightful

Honestly, people have been trying to use bird wings to fly for hundreds of years. There wasn't really much chance of this being real considering that every design that used human flight via wings (excluding gliders of course) have failed.
1. Re: Not Surprising. by Dyinobal · 2012-03-22 11:01 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Ya I'm surpised anyone fell for this at all. Anyone who even knows a tiny tiny bit about anatomy of either humans or birds knows we just don't have the muscles for anything like that.
2. Re: Not Surprising. by Kufat · 2012-03-22 11:06 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  To be fair, the troll who made the videos did claim that motors were providing 95% of the net power. That made it a good bit more plausible.
3. Re: Not Surprising. by Dyinobal · 2012-03-22 11:12 · Score: 2
  
  Ah well I guess that would get a few more people to think it was real, but even so from the short bit I watched I didn't see anything for power.
4. Re: Not Surprising. by interval1066 · 2012-03-22 11:18 · Score: 2
  
  I did see the video, and its difficult to understand how the hydrolics worked at all. There was nothing connected to the guy's arms other than some thin wires. Literally nothing, at least from what I saw.
  
  --
  Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
5. Re: Not Surprising. by durrr · 2012-03-22 11:20 · Score: 2
  
  From the short bit i watched it looked like terrible CG and just felt wrong.
6. Re: Not Surprising. by scottrocket · 2012-03-22 11:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  To be fair, the troll who made the videos did claim that motors were providing 95% of the net power. That made it a good bit more plausible.
  And visually - without deep inspection - it looked like a pretty good fake! Why wasn't this story on /.? :)
7. Re: Not Surprising. by gl4ss · 2012-03-22 11:24 · Score: 2
  
  supposedly the connection was gyros and data(someone said wiimotes).
  doesn't matter, even if the wings were ran by automatic code it wouldn't sound credible.. (in fact, you'd think he'd test it that way if it were real anyways)
  
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  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
8. Re: Not Surprising. by anchelo123456789 · 2012-03-22 12:00 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Has already been done: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Daedalus Much more impressive in my eyes as it did really work. And of course they crashed jus like Daedalus. I would love to have the opportunity to fly this thing just once in my life.
9. Re: Not Surprising. by MrEricSir · 2012-03-22 12:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The part about the Wii remotes was a major red flag. Most people are very bad at lying, and this guy committed the newbie mistake of adding in to many extraneous details to the story.
  Besides, who would build a giant flying machine for thousands of dollars and base the electronics around a $20 IR camera known for rapidly draining batteries? Doesn't seem practical or safe.
  
  --
  There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
10. Re: Not Surprising. by ColdWetDog · 2012-03-22 12:21 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Uncanny valley sort of thing. I agree with the ILM folks (hey, isn't that a smart thing to do?) - the wings and wing motion were just not fluid enough. Also lousy focus and jerky motions are easy things to do to hide GCI bits.
  Avatar it's not.
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
11. Re: Not Surprising. by PPH · 2012-03-22 12:41 · Score: 2
  
  As others have pointed out: Its been done. Successfully. The key is to lose the flapping wings (rigid wings are much lighter for the same lift) and use a propeller (mechanically much simpler).
  On a slightly off-topic rant: Why are (practically) all the emergency boat bilge pumps hand operated? I could keep a leaky boat afloat for much longer peddling a pump. And keep my hands free to run the radio to call for help.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
12. Re: Not Surprising. by Jherico · 2012-03-22 13:00 · Score: 2
  
  Because foot powered pumps wouldn't be wheelchair accessible. Duh!
  
  --
  Jherico
  What can the average user can do to ensure his security? "Nothing, you're screwed"
13. Re: Not Surprising. by Isaac-Lew · 2012-03-22 13:07 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Icarus crashed, not Daedalus.
14. Re: Not Surprising. by artor3 · 2012-03-22 13:13 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  It's the typical Slashdot delay. I'm sure the original story will pop up in a week or two, followed by a couple dupes.
15. Re: Not Surprising. by countach · 2012-03-22 15:13 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Sometimes common electronics lying around are better than some custom job. I mean, why do airlines use $500 ipads for flight maps to control a $500 million dollar aircraft? And why would you need long battery life? Flight only lasted a few seconds.
16. Re: Not Surprising. by houghi · 2012-03-22 19:34 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Avatar it's not.
  So it was very realistic with great acting and no obvious view of CGI and even an original storyline?
  
  --
  Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
17. Re: Not Surprising. by Joce640k · 2012-03-22 20:16 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The obvious fail was that the fabric in the wings wasn't even tense, it was looser than the aforementioned vagina. There's no way it was being used as a wing.
  
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  No sig today...
18. Re: Not Surprising. by findoutmoretoday · 2012-03-22 21:24 · Score: 2
  
  Even before flying, the obvious fail was that the pilot was not tense. He was going to risk his life with a poorly tested prototype the next minute.
19. Re: Not Surprising. by shadowrat · 2012-03-22 23:45 · Score: 2
  
  Because storage space is a precious commodity on a boat. Why waste space with some exercise bike pump that's only helpful in a situation that crops up in the movies far more than real life. Even if you find yourself stranded in a leaky boat, how much is that pedal contraption going to really help you? sooner or later you are going to fall asleep and the boat fills with water anyway.
  
  Think of it like spare tires. It's certainly possible to get 4 flat tires in the same trip, but is it worth always wasting all your storage space to keep 4 spares in the car?
20. Re: Not Surprising. by Kalewa · 2012-03-23 02:54 · Score: 2
  
  Actually it *was* an original plot. Better love story than Twilight too.
21. Re: Not Surprising. by Urban+Garlic · 2012-03-23 03:30 · Score: 2
  
  Done earlier than that, check out the Gossamer Condor from 1977. This looks like it's probably an ancestor of Daedalus.
  
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  2*3*3*3*3*11*251
Squirrel suit by 18_Rabbit · 2012-03-22 10:53 · Score: 2

Oh well, i guess it's back to the jet powered flying squirrel suit.
1. Re:Squirrel suit by digitac · 2012-03-22 12:09 · Score: 2
  
  You mean this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26PpA1kFIWw It's not fake, you can buy a kit. http://flyingthingz.com/products.html It's an application of the theorem that with enough thrust, anything will fly. Personally, I prefer the flying dog house.
Poor schlubs by Cazekiel · 2012-03-22 11:02 · Score: 5, Interesting

Can you imagine how insanely stupid the participants must feel? "YEEEA!" tears in their eyes, stumbling on speech, inspirational music... only to have their act be completed debunked by the most basic physics. I find that particularly amusing.

--
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1. Re:Poor schlubs by joh · 2012-03-22 11:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Why stupid? They got half the Internet viewing a video and discussing if it is real or not. That was well done and they obviously got everything out of it that they wanted and then some. If they had included some visible motors and a fake battery pack (hey, 2000 Watts for 60 seconds is just 33 Wh, less than the 45 Wh of an iPad) and put more work into the flapping of the wings, it would have more convincing, but still.
  Harmless fun, cleverly done, I'd say.
Can people fly? by tick-tock-atona · 2012-03-22 11:04 · Score: 4, Funny

I bet the conversation went a little like this..
Re:Justice must be served by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-22 11:12 · Score: 2, Insightful

Lolwut
I can't believe I fell for this! by cvtan · 2012-03-22 11:15 · Score: 5, Funny

You guys made me click on a link to FOX NEWS???? Arrghh!

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1. Re:I can't believe I fell for this! by felipekk · 2012-03-22 11:19 · Score: 2
  
  Wait. It's from Fox News! So maybe they actually did manage to create those wings and fly!
It was fake? Really? by stoofa · 2012-03-22 11:17 · Score: 2

A distinct lack of fertilizer, Mr. Holmes.
This is awesome by sideslash · 2012-03-22 11:35 · Score: 5, Insightful

The world needs to be reminded periodically not to take itself so seriously.
Frak anatomy, the video SEEMS unrealistic by F69631 · 2012-03-22 11:42 · Score: 2

Just look at the damn video.
I know I have, as a part of my (software) engineering degree, studied more physics than the average person and I might have better intuition about what stuff should look like... but that flight seem in no way, shape or form realistic or natural. The push from the wings hardly correlates with his flight path, etc...
1. Re:Frak anatomy, the video SEEMS unrealistic by tibit · 2012-03-23 01:26 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  You can take almost any bird and fill its bones and it'd still fly. Bones are an optimization, not a flight-enabler. Birds can carry stuff, after all, and sometimes that stuff can be pretty heavy and weigh way more than the bird's entire skeleton.
  
  --
  A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Human Powered Plane by phriedom · 2012-03-22 12:00 · Score: 4, Interesting

Like this maybe? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossamer_Albatross

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I was pretty convinced... by Colven · 2012-03-22 13:03 · Score: 2

and awed when I saw this the other day, although I didn't think much about it after the novelty wore off... which happened pretty quickly.
"Kaayak admitted that he didn't expect the media attention his project would generate, with over 8.9 million views across the world."
Yeah, right. I'd dismiss this if it didn't insult everyone's intelligence. You don't put up the video, a web site, fake a press release, and push it out into the public through the media channels if you don't expect it to get attention. F*** 'em.

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expletives welcomed
"Wired" did it by BlueTak · 2012-03-22 16:34 · Score: 2

This video has become "viral" because it has been published on Wired's first page. A simple look showed it was a joke ( the guy is probably lifted by a car ) but the journalist had a strong urge to fly...