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Epson Creates Tiny Flying Robot
xyote writes "As reported by the Inquirer. More info on Epson's website with a nice picture with explanatory labels and all. It weighs a little over 10g, uses an 'ultra-thin ultrasonic' motor and Bluetooth for remote control." Epson is using the robot to showcase their micromechatronics technology, and by exhibiting it, they hope to discover and test problems with using robots in three dimensions.
Maybe it is because I am currently listening to "They're Everywhere" and am a little paranoid because of it, but that could be used to remotely place bugs or be used for illegal survalience by the FBI or intelligence agencies anywhere, couldn't it?
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The Crichton book, about swarms of nanobot robots. Is this our future, or just an interresting possible outcome?
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So what kind of payload can these things carry? I bet if they beefed up the drive assembly even only slightly, it could carry enough VX poison to kill a specific target.
Slashdot is proof that Sturgeon's Law applies to mankind.
This is obviously a rip-off from Leonardo da Vinci.
A big problem with all of the tiny flying devices is that you really can't use them outside. The problem is the wind. Even an imperceptible breeze can blow these things off course, making them incredibly painful to control. The Piccolo weighs in at about 250 grams or so and it's damn near impossible to control outside.
Plus it sounds like this Epson thing is tethered because there ain't no power source on it.
What was that paper about the CIA developing a dragonfly? It worked but they couldn't use it outside because it was too light.
Da Vinci's design uses a 'screw' type blade. It's nothing like it. You might as well compare it to a propeller beanie while you're at it.
Sadly, if you look at the very bottom of the page:
*Please note that this product is a prototype. There are no plans to market it as a commercial product.
I recently broke down and order one of these. It's not quite as small but should be a lot of fun if I can figure out how to fly it.
I seem to recall that it had some sort of immersive technology and that he crashed one and could feel it burning his hands or somesuch when it was destroyed? WOW, been a looooong time since I read that and now that you've mentioned it I remember it well although not the title or character names. Scary!
But also kind of cool - if an immersive headset were built for even a largish kind of flying toy I'd think it would be pretty cool! The micro helicopter review linked\mentioned above made for a good read and is certainly much closer to consumer reality...
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This is a research robot. It is for *experimenting*. Saying "what's the point" just because it is tethered is just lacking in imagination.
Epson have not created this so they can test out battery technology, but to experiment with the problems of robots that operate in three dimensions. This is about solving the problems of navigation and control, not power supply, that's a job for Duracell.
Not everything has to have an immediate use, commercial or otherwise, to be worthy of existance. To get from here to there, you have to got to all the places in between.
Have we become a population with such a short attention span that we can no longer appreciate the value of long-term research? Far too much research is being scuppered these days because people keep asking "but what's the use of it", and "can we make a profit". Can't we just appreciate it for it's coolness and leave them too it.
Perhaps I'm a pessimist, but I think that if this attitude continues to grow, we will ultimatly be screwed by a lack of blue-sky research.
Paul
Paul Leader