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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.
...but the replacement wings will cost a fortune.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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