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World's first free-flying nano bot
Those cool cats at DARPA have done it again, with a 10-gram robot that flaps its wings like a bird. The first wireless robot this small that can carry its own power supply, this nano flying machine will be able to spy on bad guys someday.
There's still a lot of work to do. It flies in wind a whole lot better than a mosquito, but still can only withstand breezes of around 5 mph. And, it has an endurance problem, and can only stay in the air for 20 seconds before its batteries must be recharged.
What's next? We're thinking DARPA will figure out how to put tiny missiles on this little sucker, making it extra lethal.
Via Boing Boing
By beowuff at 4:06 PM ON 08/14/09
wikipedia.org: "Nanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale."
dictionary.com: "Nanotechnology –noun
any technology on the scale of nanometers."
Please fact check your articles and titles before posting. This is NOT a nano robot. It's pretty cool, but it's not nano.
By IraeNicole at 4:31 PM ON 08/14/09
The future in the War on Mosquitoes. Tiny bug vs robot bug aerial dog fights with tiny missiles.
By monster at 6:00 PM ON 08/14/09
@beowuff
General use of the English language as applied by those who speak it: "Nano means small"
Nice try though.
I do find it quite funny that this probably suffers from the same problem as most commercial R/C helicopters: wind just messes with it too much to really stay in control for long. My guess is that's why there's tons of plastic sheeting hung everywhere in the video, because even the air-con blows it about. Not really surprising though seeing as it weighs so little.
By Al at 6:59 PM ON 08/14/09
This was already covered in AOTS and showed that this is NOT the first, but one of many new flying robots being made for potential military use. AOTS vid is also better:
By unabuilder at 6:56 PM ON 08/17/09
John Shirley was writing about these 20 years ago in his "A Song Called Youth" trilogy. "Eclipse" is the first volume, then "Eclipse Penumbra" then "Eclipse Corona."
Shirley was Wm Gibson's acknowledged inspiration for his cyberpunk tomes.
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unabuilder:
John Shirley was writing about these 20 years ago in his "A Song Called Youth" trilogy. "Eclipse" is the first vol...More »