---
title: A Flight at the Museum
description: Exyn Technologies was invited to showcase our work at the Smithsonian Ingenuity Festival 2017. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a flying robot!
image: https://www.exyn.com/hubfs/exyn-at-the-museum.jpg
---

[![exyn-logo-wt](https://www.exyn.com/hs-fs/hubfs/exyn-logo-wt.png?length=300&name=exyn-logo-wt.png "exyn-logo-wt") ](https://www.exyn.com/)

[![Request a Demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/8300473/57396f92-3fbc-42c5-bbd2-fbf6fcbf28fe.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/8300473/57396f92-3fbc-42c5-bbd2-fbf6fcbf28fe)

[![Request a Demo](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/8300473/57396f92-3fbc-42c5-bbd2-fbf6fcbf28fe.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/8300473/57396f92-3fbc-42c5-bbd2-fbf6fcbf28fe)

<https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum&url=https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum&source=tweetbutton> <http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum> <http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum> [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum)

March 14, 2018

# A Flight at the Museum

Written by: [Exyn Technologies](https://www.exyn.com/news/author/exyn_adm)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a flying robot!

For those of us who work on flying robots, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum has a special place in our hearts because the it houses some of the most iconic flying machines. It is an awe-inspiring place that showcases flight technology and engineering marvels. Needless to say, our team was thrilled when Exyn Technologies was invited to showcase our work as part of the Smithsonian Ingenuity Festival 2017.

The festival celebrates the spirit of innovation and is centered around the American Ingenuity Awards, which celebrates individuals who are transforming American culture. This year’s honorees include singer/songwriter/activist – John Legend, the chief design officer at Apple – Jony Ive, and the mission scientist for NASA’s Kepler Mission – Natalie Batalha. Through this invitation, Exyn would be the first-ever autonomous-flight (in fact, any flight) inside the Smithsonian museums – How cool is that?

Our goal for this demonstration was very clear; we wanted to capture over ten thousand visitors’ imaginations — young and old, science geeks and enthusiasts. We also wanted to provide a glimpse in to our robot world and demonstrate the positive impact robots can make in our lives. Above all, we hoped to inspire the many kids visiting the museum by demonstrating how cool and fun it can be to work in science, technology, and robotics.

Before the dawn of light on November 30th, we stepped into the Air and Space Museum to setup our demonstration. We were thrilled to see that our robot would be flying in the center of the Milestones of Flight Hall among the Pershing II and SS-20 Pioneer Cold War Missiles, the LM-2 Lunar Module, and the Spirit of St. Louis and X-15 airplanes. Certainly, this is a celebration of flight.

![surprised_kids](https://www.exyn.com/hs-fs/hubfs/surprised_kids.jpg?width=1024&name=surprised_kids.jpg)

Through the day, our autonomous aerial robot demonstrated its cutting edge artificial intelligence; it mapped and safely navigated through the cluttered space without GPS or any prior information about the environment. When, after one of the demonstrations, a little girl said, “I want a robot just like that”, we knew we had accomplished a major milestone in this revered hall.

 

You can watch one of these demonstrations in full. [https://www.pscp.tv/w/1jMKgdZVgykGL](https://www.pscp.tv/w/1jMKgdZVgykGL)

Tag(s): [Blog](https://www.exyn.com/news/tag/blog)

## [Exyn Technologies](https://www.exyn.com/news/author/exyn_adm)

 |

Connect with the author

## Keep Reading

<https://www.exyn.com/news/spotlight-exyn-field-engineers>

**  7 minute read

March 31, 2021|

[Teamwork](https://www.exyn.com/news/tag/teamwork)

[Spotlight Interview: What's it like to be a Field Engineer at Exyn](https://www.exyn.com/news/spotlight-exyn-field-engineers)

[Read More](https://www.exyn.com/news/spotlight-exyn-field-engineers)

<https://www.exyn.com/news/exynai-upgrade-safe-landing-sites>

**  4 minute read

November 25, 2025|

[Robotics](https://www.exyn.com/news/tag/robotics)

[ExynAI Upgrade: Safe Landing Sites](https://www.exyn.com/news/exynai-upgrade-safe-landing-sites)

[Read More](https://www.exyn.com/news/exynai-upgrade-safe-landing-sites)

<https://www.exyn.com/news/2020/03/23/aerial-robotic-hardware>

**  9 minute read

March 23, 2020|

[Drone hardware](https://www.exyn.com/news/tag/drone-hardware)

[Aerial Robotic Hardware -- From Prototype to Production](https://www.exyn.com/news/2020/03/23/aerial-robotic-hardware)

[Read More](https://www.exyn.com/news/2020/03/23/aerial-robotic-hardware)

![](https://www.exyn.com/hubfs/gridski.svg)

## Subscribe to email updates

![exyn-logo_horiz-white](https://www.exyn.com/hubfs/exyn-logo_horiz-white.svg "exyn-logo_horiz-white")

Copyright © 2026 Exyn Technologies

[(215) 999-0200](tel:+1%20215%20999-0200)

[Contact Us](https://www.exyn.com/about/contact) [Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information](https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum#) [ Data Privacy Rights Form](https://my.datasubject.com/AzqgT7Th06O5n7f37/26903) 

<http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq0K3THWHalx3cmVJyPIkaw/> <http://twitter.com/ExynTech/> <http://www.linkedin.com/company/7168165/> <https://www.instagram.com/exyntech/> <https://www.facebook.com/ExynTech>

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Exyn Technologies",
    "url" : "https://www.exyn.com/news/author/exyn_adm"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-05-16T17:49:09.356Z",
  "datePublished" : "2018-03-14T08:40:03.000Z",
  "headline" : "A Flight at the Museum",
  "image" : [ "https://www.exyn.com/hubfs/exyn-at-the-museum.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.exyn.com/hubfs/2026%20Rebrand/exyn-logo-wt.svg"
    },
    "name" : "Exyn"
  }
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Exyn Technologies"
  },
  "dateModified" : "May 16, 2023, 5:49:09 PM",
  "datePublished" : "2018-03-14 08:40:03",
  "description" : "Exyn Technologies was invited to showcase our work at the Smithsonian Ingenuity Festival 2017. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s a flying robot!",
  "headline" : "A Flight at the Museum",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/8300473/exyn-at-the-museum.jpg"
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.exyn.com/news/2018/03/14/a-flight-at-the-museum",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://8300473.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8300473/2026%20Rebrand/exyn-logo-wt.svg"
    },
    "name" : "Exyn"
  }
}
```