ABSTRACT
The swift is a bird and is a typical product of organic evolution. It weighs about 50 g. In this small bulk is a self-powered flying machine capable of the most outstanding aerobatics; accuracy in guidance (it feeds on insects which it catches whilst it flies); inertial, topographical, magnetic, solar, lunar and stellar navigation systems; sufficiently high power-weight ratio to fly non-stop for thousands of miles; temperature control; growth, reproduction and self-repair mechanisms (though the materials are not only very durable, but the structures are so well designed that it is possible to tell what each is for just by looking at a small part of it - try divining where a brick came from in a pile of rubble: door surround, wall, lintel?); the ability to redesign itself both in the short term as an adaptation to slightly changing conditions, and in the long term resulting in another type of machine capable of other skills.
