teatrea said...Naysayers , it has to be true
Because i really want to fly like a bird
Sceptics say man's flying machine is fake
Debate is growing about the validity of a viral video that appears to show a man flying using a flapping winged contraption, with sceptics calling it fake and claiming the creator's online CV doesn't check out.
Video of a Dutch man who goes by the name Jarno Smeets soaring through the air in his homemade flying machine has been watched nearly 300,000 times since it was posted on YouTube on March 19.
It has since been suggested the clip is a viral marketing advertisement for the products Smeets says he used to make the craft and film its flight.
CGI experts from US-based Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) have scorned the footage, saying the headcam footage is suspiciously steady and parts of the video look like it was made using CGI technology, Gizmodo reports.
"Look how steady the GoPro footage is. You seriously think his neck is that stable when flapping his arms? To get that high and not move your head around an inch to take in the view?" an employee told ILM technical director Ryan Martin.
"The wing cloth, totally looks like cloth simulation - the cloth look structurally too rigid looks like a thick velvet," another employee said.
The employees questioned why Smeets had not used proper filming equipment given the amount of money he was spending on the project.
Stills of the video also appear to show inconsistencies, including shadows that don't match up.
Smeets also seems to have lied in his online LinkedIn resume.
He claimed to have worked as an engineer at Pailton Steering Systems and attended Coventry University in the UK, but both places deny having any record of him being there, Wired reports.
But Mythbusters Jamie Hyneman weighed in on the debate, saying although he is suspicious because there is not much detail shown of the actual machine, the feat is "reasonable to accomplish".
"The device is also something that is only possible in recent times, given proliferation of these types of high torque, high power density brushless motors, high voltage speed controllers and lithium batteries, off the shelf carbon fiber components and so on," he said.
Melbourne University internet marketing expert Brent Coker said the video is likely a "branded viral production" for one of the companies Smeets prominently mentions in his website, press releases and video descriptions.
Smeets claims to have used Nintendo Wii controllers from an HTC Wildfire S android smartphone to manipulate the wings, powered by Turnigy motors. He also mentions using a GoPro helmet camera to film his flight.
Smeets has yet to speak to media since video of his purported successful flight made headlines earlier this week (Read more: man flies with homemade flapping machine).
But he earlier defended the footage on YouTube, saying it was real but he could understand why some people were sceptical as the video had been edited.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/8438807/sceptics-say-mans-flying-machine-is-fake
