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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.
"You have been trying to install third party ink cartridges...you will be assimilated..."
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...but the replacement wings will cost a fortune.
Communicates by bluetooth does it? Who's going to be the first to create an automatic fly swatter to take this thing out when it flys near? Of course I wouldn't build such a device because I personaly welcome our minature flying robot overlords. Sorry, got carried away there.
In the picture at the Epson site, it looks like there are power lines running off of the unit. The description makes no mention of having a battery attached to it. So yeah, maybe you have wireless control, but what's the point when you're tethered anyways?
Yeah, but does it Print?
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.
What the hell? Where did they get a name like that?
"Our use of micromechatronics will help us succeed in our quest", stated project lead Optimus Prime. "We will defeat the decepticons and obtain all minicons", he then went on to say. Megatron was unavailable for comment.
That little thing would totally get it's ass kicked on battlebots...
Question everything that you've accepted without thinking.
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.
The robot is only $100 but replacement ink cartridges for it cost $50 each.
Until a hacker developes a firmware that lets it suck blood for fuel.
Believe it or not, the military does do things besides blow up stuff.
Probably the first use the military would consider for these does not involve combat, but rather reconnaissance. An earlier post jokingly advised putting an X10 cam on one of these, but such a capability is exactly what would benefit both peacekeepers and police forces in urban areas. Much cheaper than a UAV, these things could hover over rooftops to see areas held by insurgents to avoid further bloodshed.
Modified flying bots could also be used to detect mines, explosive residue, and chemical or biological agents.
So perhaps before you jump on the soldiers-are-babykillers bandwagon, you should consider how the military can (and does) leverage cutting edge technology to save lives.
Yes, the real danger is not the flying-nano-bots of the future, it is the flying-centi-bots that are here now! There's one at my window!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
It's only a matter of time before someone puts a wee little bomb on one of these and kills someone with it. Or at least puts an eye out.
Then it's only a matter of time before someone makes a swarm of them with wee little bombs and turns them loose on a bigger target.
Then it's only a matter of time before someone makes a counterswarm of them.
Then slashdotters will have an unlimited number of slightly charred tiny flying robot parts to experiment with.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
Maybe they won't need much in terms of batteries.
Maybe they can have photocells, and convert the energy they need from natural or artificial light sources. So, at night we could see a bunch of those thingies hitting their heads on street lamps.
Maybe they can fly down for a recharge every once in a while, landing on a bigger robot's back and sucking some electricity.
And maybe, if all else fails, we can leave them energized by a thin wire, hanging from the tip of a long rod. They won't get far, but if you leave the rod close to the water you may be able to fool and electrically stun an obtuse trout, which you will then take home for dinner.
Quem a paca cara compra, paca cara pagará.
I know micro RC planes often use tiny NiMH batteries. Some of the planes weigh in as light as seven grams, and it's not uncommon for the battery to give at least 10 minutes of flying time.
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
My cat would love this thing.
Chip H.
As a former member of the U.S. Army and a veteran of the first Gulf War, I am well aware that armies are designed to go places and break things. In Basic Training we were taught how to shoot and use a bayonet, not how to distribute food off the back of a pickup truck.
That said, the U.S. military is not full of bloodthirsty killers. Sure, you may occasionally run into the REMF yahoo who is eager to "go to war" but any soldier, sailor, airman or Marine with time under his or her belt will know the sobering facts of war: deployment away from ones' family and the potential loss of life.
These guys also are well aware of the fact that you don't earn the trust and favor of the people you are trying to liberate by killing indiscriminately....which is the key motivation behind the development of smart munitions such as cruise missiles and laser-guided bombs.
And these are the weapons that can be more accurately guided (not just at the bad guys but away from the innocents) by the kind of flying robot discussed earlier. If nothing else, it can give a squad leader a birds-eye-view of the area so he can avoid taking his people into an ambush or getting civilians caught in a crossfire.