[Noisebridge-discuss] Spherical Flying Drone Looks Like Something From Sci-Fi Movies

Jake jake at spaz.org
Mon Dec 5 23:23:09 UTC 2011


This thing is fucking beautiful.  One prop, facing up, with control 
surfaces under it to maintain attitude.  And when it's traveling sideways 
through space (and it's tilted) the air is directed through "wings" in the 
structure to keep it aloft.  It can travel at 66 KPH.  And it's apparently 
at least as stable as the best quadrocopters.  And not dangerous (you 
would have to stick your hand inside it to get chopped up)

I say we build one RIGHT NOW.  Cory, where's that electric prop motor you 
have?  Do you still have the ESC and other parts?  bring it on!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/242938/spherical_flying_drone_looks_like_something_from_scifi_movies.html

Airborne Drones are all the craze this year, and Japan is getting in the 
game too. Japans Ministry of Defense showed off a flying demo of their 
spherically-shaped drone at the recent Digital Content Expo in Tokyo.

A video from DigInfo shows this little drone taking off vertically, nimbly 
zipping around the room, and correcting itself when struck. A propeller 
blade powers the drone but it is also equipped with wings that allow it to 
fly at speeds of 40 miles per hour. The kicker is the drone only costs 
$1,400 to build using off-the-shelf parts.

The quick maneuverability shown on the video is comparable to the Parrot's 
AR.Drone, but thanks to its spherical shape and three on-board gyroscopes, 
this drone wont flip over and fall to the ground when it hits a wall. 
Japans drone can actually fly along a wall, or even land on the ground and 
roll to its destination.

This drone could be used for anything from security, military, 
photojournalism, or to replace camera cranes used on movie sets. At the 
same, time sci-fi buffs like me might think it looks a lot light those 
flying death bots from Doctor Who or those round syringe-wielding things 
hovering around the Death Stars detention level.



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