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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
An amusing notion, but keep in mind where the endpoint for this lies. There's two possible routes, as far as I can see:
First is the Diamond Age route, where the 'bots go smaller and smaller until they get to the nanoscale, and we end up with 'toner' everywhere.
The second is building a spider to catch the fly, building a bird to catch the spider, building a cat to catch the bird, et al., until you get up to the point where you're making little old ladies swallow equines to take care of a surveillance bug.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
I hope it's used to spy on government officials and secret boardroom dealings.
... the knowledge that everything they do and say might be open to public surveillance and scrutiny. I'm actually willing to give up every last shred of my privacy if it also means the end of state secrets, evil backroom dealings, etc.
Seriously, I'm beginning to think that's only thing that will save our civilization from the evil sociopaths in positions of power
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
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!