Comments on: Nano Air Vehicle takes flight http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Thu, 23 May 2013 21:22:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565763 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565763 An <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithopter">ornithopter</a>? I had one of those when I was a kid. It was powered by a rubber band. Not quite as fancy as this new one. An ornithopter? I had one of those when I was a kid. It was powered by a rubber band. Not quite as fancy as this new one.

]]> By: robcat2075 http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565768 robcat2075 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565768 Yeah, first thing I thought was that toy helicopters have them beat already. I can't imagine the flapping wings are more efficient than a rotary blade. Yeah, first thing I thought was that toy helicopters have them beat already. I can’t imagine the flapping wings are more efficient than a rotary blade.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566538 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566538 ackpht #32: <em>The rest of you who think this is some kind of joke, it is not. A lot of time and $ are being spent to get this technology where it needs to go.</em> A lot of time and money has been spent on lots of things that never showed any efficacy. This hover-doohickey may be a technological marvel, but as a functional object it is a joke that can't compete with a toy helicopter. My guess is that some engineers really wanted to see if they could build a drone that could fly with flapping wings, and the best way they could find funding was to sell the idea to DARPA. If advanced technology was what won wars or subdued populations then we would have breezed through Vietnam and Afghanistan without missing a beat. It doesn't matter if you have advanced jet fighter technology if your adversary is using improvised explosives, and your hover-drones don't mean shit if the other guy has a screen door or a flyswatter. ackpht #32:

The rest of you who think this is some kind of joke, it is not. A lot of time and $ are being spent to get this technology where it needs to go.

A lot of time and money has been spent on lots of things that never showed any efficacy. This hover-doohickey may be a technological marvel, but as a functional object it is a joke that can’t compete with a toy helicopter. My guess is that some engineers really wanted to see if they could build a drone that could fly with flapping wings, and the best way they could find funding was to sell the idea to DARPA.

If advanced technology was what won wars or subdued populations then we would have breezed through Vietnam and Afghanistan without missing a beat. It doesn’t matter if you have advanced jet fighter technology if your adversary is using improvised explosives, and your hover-drones don’t mean shit if the other guy has a screen door or a flyswatter.

]]> By: gunterhausfrau http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565776 gunterhausfrau Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565776 What exactly is this a nano of? Is there something out there that is 10^9 larger that this is a smaller version of? That would be a pretty damn big flappy helicoptor thing (~75,000 km) now let's work in biotech, superconducting, buckyballs in the title and the grant will just write itself. What exactly is this a nano of?

Is there something out there that is 10^9 larger that this is a smaller version of? That would be a pretty damn big flappy helicoptor thing (~75,000 km)

now let’s work in biotech, superconducting, buckyballs in the title and the grant will just write itself.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565780 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565780 20 second power supply? Better be a short mission! 20 second power supply? Better be a short mission!

]]> By: PeterK http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565783 PeterK Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565783 I am not so sure about the "Nano". What is nano with a thing that looks like it is a good 3-5 inches tall? I am not so sure about the “Nano”. What is nano with a thing that looks like it is a good 3-5 inches tall?

]]> By: RedShirt77 http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565790 RedShirt77 Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565790 It's nice that we live in a world where even people with speech impediments can do voice over work. It’s nice that we live in a world where even people with speech impediments can do voice over work.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565793 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565793 Oh goody, a highly advanced reconnaissance robot that has 20 seconds of operational time and can be undone by a sneeze. Oh goody, a highly advanced reconnaissance robot that has 20 seconds of operational time and can be undone by a sneeze.

]]> By: Takuan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565794 Takuan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565794 a silent, tiny spy that advances in hops and sits and watches and reports? That recharges on light and is cheap enough to deploy en masse? Be wary. a silent, tiny spy that advances in hops and sits and watches and reports? That recharges on light and is cheap enough to deploy en masse? Be wary.

]]> By: Steve Schnier http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565805 Steve Schnier Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565805 Yeah, Toys R Us has a mini helicopter with a built in video camera. But if you buy that, you can't get your mitts on that sweet government research grant moolah. Yeah, Toys R Us has a mini helicopter with a built in video camera. But if you buy that, you can’t get your mitts on that sweet government research grant moolah.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565825 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565825 Say all you want about the helicopters, you can't dress the helicopter up as a bird and fool anyone. Say all you want about the helicopters, you can’t dress the helicopter up as a bird and fool anyone.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566084 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566084 There are actually more interesting applications for low-cost solar-powered miniature hovering fliers then spying. For instance, suppose you equipped them with small (maybe 16x16) arrays of fairly high-powered red, green, and blue lasers, a 3d representation of a part of a city, and some way of finding their exact position in real-time. You could send up 20 or so to a high altitude, and have them each project a small section of an image or video on a building. If they moved around quickly and randomly at a high enough altitude, they'd probably be very difficult to shoot down, and even if you got half of them, you'd only reduce the image or video quality by half. Imagine you deployed a bunch of these around North Korea with a video of a respected South Korean professor explaining (in subtitles) the techniques commonly used by cults to brainwash devotees. Or, in rural Iran, videos of dissidents explaining how they were tortured into the confessions broadcast on the state TV stations. After all, wasn't it glasnost that brought down the USSR? There are actually more interesting applications for low-cost solar-powered miniature hovering fliers then spying. For instance, suppose you equipped them with small (maybe 16×16) arrays of fairly high-powered red, green, and blue lasers, a 3d representation of a part of a city, and some way of finding their exact position in real-time. You could send up 20 or so to a high altitude, and have them each project a small section of an image or video on a building. If they moved around quickly and randomly at a high enough altitude, they’d probably be very difficult to shoot down, and even if you got half of them, you’d only reduce the image or video quality by half.

Imagine you deployed a bunch of these around North Korea with a video of a respected South Korean professor explaining (in subtitles) the techniques commonly used by cults to brainwash devotees. Or, in rural Iran, videos of dissidents explaining how they were tortured into the confessions broadcast on the state TV stations. After all, wasn’t it glasnost that brought down the USSR?

]]> By: soupisgoodfood http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566855 soupisgoodfood Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566855 Why are they using flapping wings? I understand researching that alone, but if you just want a small remote air vehicle that can hover, a helicopter is better. Or is there something I've overlooked? It's not like an animal, where evolving continually rotating parts would seem pretty hard. And before someone mentions the complexity of helicopter cyclic controls, piezoelectric blades seem like a good area to research. @21: Autogyros aren't capable of sustained hover. Why are they using flapping wings? I understand researching that alone, but if you just want a small remote air vehicle that can hover, a helicopter is better. Or is there something I’ve overlooked? It’s not like an animal, where evolving continually rotating parts would seem pretty hard. And before someone mentions the complexity of helicopter cyclic controls, piezoelectric blades seem like a good area to research.

@21: Autogyros aren’t capable of sustained hover.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565849 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565849 #13 is dead on. These probably make little to no noise and are embedded with a variety of micro-sensors. It would be interesting to know what kind of applications DARPA has in mind. #13 is dead on. These probably make little to no noise and are embedded with a variety of micro-sensors. It would be interesting to know what kind of applications DARPA has in mind.

]]> By: obdan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566105 obdan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566105 Someday it will shoot you Someday it will shoot you

]]> By: forgeweld http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565853 forgeweld Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565853 Wow, is DARPA getting played. Flytech has half a dozen r/c flyers for under $50 that make this look like, well, a toy. A really crap toy. Wow, is DARPA getting played. Flytech has half a dozen r/c flyers for under $50 that make this look like, well, a toy. A really crap toy.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565858 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565858 Those flytech toys have 1 foot wingspans. This thing is much smaller and lighter. Those flytech toys have 1 foot wingspans. This thing is much smaller and lighter.

]]> By: Takuan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566118 Takuan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566118 or a clear explanation of how medicare works over benighted republican backwaters? or a clear explanation of how medicare works over benighted republican backwaters?

]]> By: ackpht http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566120 ackpht Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566120 Takuan called it. The rest of you who think this is some kind of joke, it is not. A lot of time and $ are being spent to get this technology where it needs to go. And not just in the USA- not by a long shot. Aviation Week has articles on new UAV programs in just about every issue these days. One recently-awarded contract was for development of software to allow a small flying UAV to find its way around- <i>indoors</i>. Takuan called it.

The rest of you who think this is some kind of joke, it is not. A lot of time and $ are being spent to get this technology where it needs to go.

And not just in the USA- not by a long shot.

Aviation Week has articles on new UAV programs in just about every issue these days. One recently-awarded contract was for development of software to allow a small flying UAV to find its way around- indoors.

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565865 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565865 I don't give the military or the police credit for doing intelligent things. If I were (hahaha!) seriously threatened by these things, why, I would just set up a sprinkler system. Can't hear, can't through through that shit either. I don’t give the military or the police credit for doing intelligent things. If I were (hahaha!) seriously threatened by these things, why, I would just set up a sprinkler system. Can’t hear, can’t through through that shit either.

]]> By: Brainspore http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565867 Brainspore Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565867 @ #13 & #16: I'll be wary when they get close to building something remotely practical. I might feel more threatened if I didn't know that they've been working on this idea for decades and still haven't been able to create a version that can outperform a $50 toy. @ #13 & #16:

I’ll be wary when they get close to building something remotely practical. I might feel more threatened if I didn’t know that they’ve been working on this idea for decades and still haven’t been able to create a version that can outperform a $50 toy.

]]> By: Takuan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566124 Takuan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566124 make it smaller http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/killer-drones-to-get-sound-system/ make it smaller
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/killer-drones-to-get-sound-system/

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565887 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565887 Autogyros(gyrocopters] are even simpler in design than a helicopter and they are stable in strong winds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro#Early_development There are many clips of RC ones on youtube. This one seems particularly small, simple, maneuverable and inexpensive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBWJIkNviC8 So easy to fly that a child can do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3-fpK1qsU&feature=related The same can not be said for most helecopters, and i'm sure this new ornithopter design requires computers to fly it. But you can't get a grant for thechnology that was invented in 1921! Autogyros(gyrocopters] are even simpler in design than a helicopter and they are stable in strong winds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro#Early_development

There are many clips of RC ones on youtube. This one seems particularly small, simple, maneuverable and inexpensive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBWJIkNviC8

So easy to fly that a child can do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx3-fpK1qsU&feature=related

The same can not be said for most helecopters, and i’m sure this new ornithopter design requires computers to fly it.

But you can’t get a grant for thechnology that was invented in 1921!

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566445 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566445 BCSIZEMO sed... "DARPA goal is extremely lofty" Lofty. I saw what you did there. BCSIZEMO sed…
“DARPA goal is extremely lofty”

Lofty. I saw what you did there.

]]> By: MikeyHammond http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565960 MikeyHammond Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565960 Sounded good until I heard "The US Army...." *facepalm I guess I was a fool to think that it wouldn't be used for it's military applications. Sounded good until I heard “The US Army….”

*facepalm

I guess I was a fool to think that it wouldn’t be used for it’s military applications.

]]> By: TharkLord http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565972 TharkLord Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565972 Pshaw... If you want to see the Taliban's worst nightmare take a look at this: http://www.girl.com.au/competition-wowwee-tinkerbell-toy.htm Pshaw… If you want to see the Taliban’s worst nightmare take a look at this:

http://www.girl.com.au/competition-wowwee-tinkerbell-toy.htm

]]> By: Anonymous http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565717 Anonymous Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565717 I know these things. I believe they're called 'manhacks'. I know these things. I believe they’re called ‘manhacks’.

]]> By: bcsizemo http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-566231 bcsizemo Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-566231 Well I think we have a LONG ways to go, and that DARPA goal is extremely lofty, but progress is being made. In my mind the end goal is not what the scientists/engineers/designers are after. It's the development of the technology along the way. Similar to NASA and how we use spin offs of their tech creations everyday. The rational side of me just looks at these things and goes meh. I guess I still think "war" should be about destruction and force. Well I think we have a LONG ways to go, and that DARPA goal is extremely lofty, but progress is being made.

In my mind the end goal is not what the scientists/engineers/designers are after. It’s the development of the technology along the way. Similar to NASA and how we use spin offs of their tech creations everyday.

The rational side of me just looks at these things and goes meh. I guess I still think “war” should be about destruction and force.

]]> By: Takuan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565979 Takuan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565979 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/08/AR2007100801434.html?nav=rss_print/asection http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/08/AR2007100801434.html?nav=rss_print/asection

]]> By: Takuan http://boingboing.net/2009/08/13/nano-air-vehicle-tak.html#comment-565983 Takuan Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-565983 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ5oi7tASC8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ5oi7tASC8

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