The flying robot is called SmartInversion, and its moves resemble the moves of a jellyfish. It has a very lightweight body that allows helium to keep it in the air.

The invention measures 4.75 meters across and its weight is 2.334 kg. Swiss artist Paul Schatz is the person who designed the robot and came up with its unique shape that was developed by cutting up a cube into two star-shaped units, thus making an "invertible cube".

SmartInversion was created from a framework of carbon fibre tubing. The machine draws power from servo motors and an ARM processor. The latter is powered by an 8.4V lithium polymer battery.On a single charge the robot can fly for about 15 minutes and is remotely controlled with the help of an iPhone application.

Although currently valued mostly for its aesthetic qualities, the SmartInversion project may have a broader impact on technology. More ingenious designs are likely to be submitted to the student design contest organized by the Festo Bionic Learning Network and the German Design Council in association with the 2012 Hanover Trade Fair. The goal is to “investigate the phenomenon of inversion in greater depth”. With over 30,000 euros (US$ 39,483) at stake, the contestants are likely to show some serious creativity.