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Shape Changing Plane In Development
Eh-Wire writes "The University of Florida has a short article on the "morphing wing" drone they are developing for a small aircraft that can swoop through parking garages, dive into alleys and land on balconies. Close-up video of seagulls in flight was the inspiration for the design of the drone. A still image of the drone shows an aircraft that looks surprisingly gull-like. A video shows the "wing morphing" in action on a static mounted drone. There is also a link to quite a few more videos in the article but it's not real obvious. Some guys get all the phun jobs!"
So how long until they make one that can change into a giant robot?
It's a plane!
What the heck is that thing?
The opinion above is fiction. Any similarity to real opinions, including facts and logic, is purely coincidental.
Wonder plane powers activate! Form of .... a slightly different plane!
... why not just use seagulls with lasers on their heads?
Well, there goes the bird population in countries with paranoid leadership.
Someone's been reading too much Frank Herbert.
Assuming there is such a thing as too much Frank Herbert.
So, when flying over crowds of people, does this new plane drop its cargo every so often?
> It's a plane!
>
> What the heck is that thing?
Holy fuck, it's an elephant! Either get a big umbrella, lay off the booze, or run for your lives!
What's the big deal? I see footage of planes changing shape on those "historic aviation" shows on the Discovery Channel all the time.
The planes tend to change shape in a spectacular fashion when something goes wrong and the ground intersects the plane's flight path.
Oh, great, get a few of these and we have a whole robotic Flock of Seagulls.
Talk about modern warfare, it's a whole new wave of drones.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
ROFLROFLROFLROFL!
So how long until they make one that can change into a giant robot?
It's not making it into a giant robot that's the problem, you simply connect the shape changing plane to the mobile gun platform torso to do that.
It's making it big enough to carry the teenage pilots inside the giant robots that's taking all the time.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Jonathan Livingston Drone just doesn't have the right mix of romance, awe, dread, and reverence if you ask me.
oh great - so now we'll have robot gulls fighting over french fries in the McDonalds dumpsters. Of course as robots they'll be able to rip the sides right off the dumpsters...
This thing has hinges on its wings! What a gyp! Screw that, that isn't morphing. I want a plane where the wings are made of a single peice of some kind of high-tech polymer that changes shape when electricity is applied to it.
Technoli
It looks like they also designed a web server that can "morph" into a molten slag heap...
Someday a real rain is gonna come...
Just throw some alka seltzer on the ground.
Heck, I haven't even seen any living thing with an rotary parts.
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
wow, that was the coolest video ever. Up to this point, I've only seen virtuoso pilots at air shows make those kinds of manuevers with their airplanes. I think this design, new or not, gives these mini planes a LOT of flexibility and could enable such applications as:
- spying on your next door neighbor while she's getting undressed
- spying on your neighbor across the street while she is getting undressed
- spying on your wife while she is getting undressed but not letting you watch because you got caught doing the above two things
- spying on yourself while you are getting undressed by programming the plane to do so WITHOUT your knowledge and then getting really mad at it.
no but seriously, what's up with all the jokes? This is an awesome little plane concept, great job you guys.
Im sorry , but just because the Smithsonian was PAID to never reveal that the Write Brothers were not the first to fly in a powered plane, it simply is NOT TRUE: See the following link: http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/pearse1.htm l
* Carthago Delenda Est *
I know I'm just guessing here, but it's probably because you don't have 6 50-caliber machine guns mounted on your Cessna.
Oh yeah, a flock of remotely piloted seagulls screeching around trying to get the shot is going to be SO much better...
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
They should make one where you have this regular-looking set of wings, and when you go into attack mode, these wings, or "foils," open up and take on the appearance of a large "X" when seen from the front or back.
And I want to mount four of our new laser cannon on it. It should also be able to launch some photon torpedoes. And have a maintenance droid along for the ride.
Thanks for the interesting thread, and of course, thanks for nearly taking down our server. I checked the router logs this afternoon with Prof. Lind and found that we had been slashdotted - DENIED.
Thankfully, we're still running and serving, most likely a result of the mirrors people have kindly setup.
Interesting comments in the thread, I particularly liked the one about our server morphing into a molten slag heap.
I've been studying the dynamics of morphing aircraft throughout my master's and PhD work. Granted we're not dealing with a solution to the morphing problem here. We've simply identified some interesting dynamic properties associated with gull-wing and other morphing types.
As for the use of hinges, we make no excuses for using 'antiquated' technology in place of piezoelectric actuators or other embedded actuators. The piezos require far more voltage than we can provide on the airplanes. The hinges work - every time. Besides, think of the skeletal structure of birds... don't they also use shoulder and elbow joints?