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MIT Researchers Develop Autonomous Indoor Robocopter

Posted by Soulskill on from the if-it-drops-water-balloons-i'll-take-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at MIT's Robust Robotics Group have developed a robotic helicopter capable of autonomously flying inside buildings or other GPS-denied environments. It has an on-board camera and a laser scanner that maps the local environment. The video talks about search-and-rescue and civil engineering applications, but it also brings somewhat scary reminders of Minority Report to my head. How long till I see one of these chasing me down a dark alley? The team's website has more videos showing earlier stages of the project."

6 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'd give it a year by sopssa · · Score: 5, Funny

    I knew the

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    that is tattooed on my ass would come handy.

  2. Re:Dark alley by SEWilco · · Score: 4, Funny

    Did you RTFA? The navigation problem was greatly simplified by sharpening the blades, eliminating the need to go around walls.

  3. Re:Two biggest problems by newcastlejon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dammit Fusion Industries! Where's my Mr. Fusion Nano?

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  4. How long? by YourExperiment · · Score: 2, Funny

    How long till I see one of these chasing me down a dark alley?

    That depends on what you were planning, citizen.

  5. Pizza delivery by Tibia1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Did no one else see this vital application use?

  6. Re:I'd give it a year by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I knew the

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    that is tattooed on my ass would come handy.

    But have you changed your name to robot.txt?