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Robotic Fly to Descend on New York
DeviceGuru writes "Harvard University's tiny microrobotic fly, hailed by its creators as 'the first robotic fly that is able to generate enough thrust to takeoff,' will be showcased at New York's Museum of Modern Art starting Feb. 24. The life-sized 'Flybot' reportedly has a wingspan of 1.2 inches (3 cm) and weighs a mere 0.002 ounces (60 mg). This project of the Harvard University Microbotics Lab has received funding from DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which hopes to gain access to micro-miniature surveillance technologies."
The expression "I wish I was a fly on the wall when $EVENT happened" is soon to become reality...
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
Woody Allen: Waiter, there is a DARPA robotic fly in my soup!
Waiter: Don't worry sir that GRU robotic spider on your bread will soon get him!
My work here is dung.
Welcome Big brother!
Now maybe we really can have open government.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
They are coming out with an equivalent cockroach version in a couple of months. The next generation "fruit fly" model is expected to be available in late 2010.
They won't tell us when they start domestic "Fly" surveillance in the US. We will have to guess it will be sometime shortly before or after they outlaw flyswatters.
I hope I don't get billed for all the lost government property that is swallowed by my cats!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
I just tried to visit the site again and triggered the old 'Bandwidth Exceeded' message. My bad....
Yes, the little flybot does appear to work, although a) it's powererd externally, and b) it's on rails that only allow it to move vertically. The narrator of the video admits that [paraphrasing] "We're missing some things, like an independent, on-board electronics package to control it, and a suitable power source." Basically it's just a pair of (working) wings at this point.
Customer: Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?
Waiter: Watching your every move.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Kevin Smith on Prince
So presumably its predecessors were called robotic walks then?
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
You can call it "crap" all you want - but guess what! This technology is really on its way - is very real and tangible
I'm both an engineer and an R/C heli/airplane fan - and I've been pretty amazed at the kind of stuff that's been coming available over just the last few years - and I'm not talking "scientific research" but even commercial products you can find at your local hobby store or mall.
Lets look:
Batteries Crazy advances in odd things like Li-Po batteries and "supercaps" which are very light, small, and can charge very quickly.
Motors Brushless electric motors with much greater power and efficiency. People are literally ripping their gas engines out of their 60-sized helis and replacing them with electric motors and batteries!
Radios Spread-Spectrum radios which provide operation free of glitches and interference.
Wireless Video Probibly because of the new CCD stuff from WebCams and the like - there are a billion wireless video "toys" out even for little kids - RC cars with "spy cameras", VEX robotic kits, etc.
Gyros They keep getting better and better - cheaper and cheaper -helping with stability
Servos Or the lack of 'em! glue a tiny neodyme magnet on a piece of foam and wrap a wire around it a couple times to control you control surface! They sell tiny foam RC planes based on this
Stable Helis Counter-rotating helis that are extremely stable - allowing a complete novice to fly indoors quickly. You can even buy one a Brookstones for $29!
And of course the radios and electronics are of course getting smaller and more integrated. This is an amaizing time for this kind of stuff - I can't wait to see what the next few years will bring!