DARPA contractor shows off tiny robo-hummingbird UAV

We've seen plenty of tiny UAVs (or NAVs -- Nano Aerial Vehicles -- as they're also known), but none quite like the robo-hummingbird that's been in development at DARPA-contractor AeroVironment for the past couple of years. While we haven't heard much about it during that time, the company recently completed its most advanced prototype to date, dubbed Mercury, and it's taken advantage of the opportunity to show off all the progress it has made. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to fly about and hover in place by mimicking the wing movement of a real hummingbird and, of course, be controlled completely untethered. What's more, the firm says that the final version will actually look like a real hummingbird as well, and be able to be controlled from up to a kilometer away -- even inside buildings, where a hummingbird won't look at all out of place.

[Via Danger Room]

[*brotha @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:01AM]

they seem like they are still a long way from anything that... will be really useful

[Jono @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:07AM]

UAV ONLINE, ENGINE STARTING:

CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP! buzzzzz CHEEP

[Erb @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:12AM]

Do I need to get 3 kills without dying to get one?

[Chris @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:52AM]

Or they are a very long way to be authorized to show us what they really have in stock ...

[Quantumphysics @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:52AM]

THE PENGUIN had these on Batman the Animated Series.

Poison tipped Beak.

[Quantumphysics @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:10AM]

I just hope the Pentagon has an orbital laser weapon capable of firing las beams directly into a target's head from space.

[j_g_puff @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:49AM]

You've got to wonder what the battery life is...it doesn't look like it can carry much weight. It's still unbelievably cool though.

[KRIS_C_123 @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:02AM]

Aww look at the little birdy :)

[Carrie @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:03AM]

The fact that there's no sound on the video makes me wonder how loud that thing actually is.

[Gad Get @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:14AM]

If you're implying that the sound has been muted to cover up the fact that the thing is too loud, I doubt that's the case; slo-mo video can't necessarily be expected to have sound.

I too am curious about what the thing sounds like, though.

[lxuke @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:03AM]

ITS IN MUH HURRR!!!!

[The Mad Mule @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:06AM]

I lol'd at its head. Looks like a mini steamroller got to it.

[basroil @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:06AM]

Long live DARPA's arctic/attic hummingbird. Hopefully they will make a space hummingbird version too.

[Evan @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:07AM]

a space hummingbird, no matter what it is- sounds awesome.

[Erb @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:44AM]

Genius, something that uses air to propel itself... In space.

[Mike C @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:10AM]

though spy hummingbirds will be the status quo once our robot overlords take over.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:11AM]

I suspect they would dispense with the cute veneer to cut on production costs.

[MeanSpyvie @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:10PM]

12 Guage #7 bird shot is still only about $0.25 per round at Wallyworld.

[Josh @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:14AM]

Want!

[Gad Get @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:15AM]

I like the picture. I think it's very accurate.

[Captain Drew @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:19AM]

News report from 2015:
Scientists are lamenting reports that Bananastan's mad dictator Herve Villechaize III has ordered the immediate destruction of ALL species of hummingbirds, larks, gannets, and larches, due to heightened fears that Western powers are using flying spy platforms disguised as harmless animals.

(they mean to win Wimbledon)

[SirPhunkee @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:24AM]

lol @ tattoo "da hummingbird, da hummingbird!"

[az1324 @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:22AM]

in the next test, they will demonstrate drinking nectar from a flower. (by flower they mean your ear and by nectar they mean your soul)

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:26AM]

Wow you have a nectar-like soul I guess then, that's pretty sweet.


   Especially if it makes birds lick your ear :)

[Tinh @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:47AM]

I would love to see it here but unable to do that right now.

[andres @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:09AM]

looks photoshopped ;)

[Mikeluisortega @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:14AM]

Great now the crazy conspiracy theorist are going to be scared of the "Damn illuminati humming birds" that are listening to them or are trying to swoop their tin foil hats off.

[Mace Moneta @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:15AM]

That thing must suck power - the battery probably lasts 30 seconds, so I'm thinking that they have a little work to do.

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:23AM]

The army must has access to all those batteries they announce on engadget every day but the consumer never sees I bet, lasting 1000000 longer by now if you count it all up, 'lithium quantum dot nanotubessigngularities' and what have you.

[Ducman69 @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:31AM]

Small ornithopters have shown considerable efficiency benefits over propeller driven craft at small scales up to about eagle size at lesser speeds, so the battery life may not be that bad. Not to mention that they are very nimble designs. Nature evolved a pretty efficient shape. Here's my little cheapo ornithopter I got at walmart flying around my house: dubdubdub youtube dot com /watch?v=5lpbUasdVXs

[jason @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:00AM]

Reminds me of that scene in the show Lexx where Thodin uses one of these things to manipulate the computer to change his verdict all while he is in the middle of the stadium on display locked in a cage. This will come in handy when the Divine Order tries to take over earth.

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:24AM]

You lost me, lexx? Never heard of it.

[jason @ Jul 3rd 2009 11:31AM]

Lexx was a SciFi show based around organic technology. It was really twisted, creative, and crazy, I love it. I have never seen anything else like it. Here in the US it originally aired on SciFi channel but it was on in Canada and Europe too. There is a wiki page on it and clips on youtube.

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:33PM]

But are there torrents is the q.

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:37PM]

Don't reply though, I'll look myself, don't get engadget in trouble with the owners of piratebay, erm, I mean with NBC excuse me.

[Swagman @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:02AM]

I wonder what kind of payload one of those could carry? You know, besides a camera. Possibly a small anti-personnel explosive or something. Target one individual from 1k away, and literally blow his head off. Or maybe some form of poison injection.

Or if you are like me, you just want to secretly film that hot co-ed of the street doing it, and upload it on YouPorn.

[DarKlar @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:26AM]

If it was an African hummingbird, then possibly a coconut?

[Steve @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:11AM]

A little bit of C4 on that thing, and you're ready to go.

"Oh, look at the little humming bird! It landed on my head!"
*pop* little puff of smoke...and you're dead.



And as long as this doesn't sound like Big Dog, I'm fine. Big Dog gives me nightmares.

[Boards of Canada @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:17AM]

Yeah, its nice stuff but is there any hummingbird in the desert? They should try a robot-camel at the place.

[SiXiam @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:17AM]

DARPA is disappointed, because Terminator Salvation sucked and it didn't give them any good ideas on how to create a robot army, without Skynet innovation and control.

[Scott @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:44AM]

look out for drunk hummingbirds.

[MisterSquared @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:16AM]

Our UAV's online!

[TomTom2007 @ Jul 3rd 2009 8:39AM]

Ah dam it, I was going to say it.. muhahahaaa...

[Chase @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:56AM]

Does it have a video feed? Otherwise seems a bit pointless.... You could control it from a km away but only see it from about 100ft at that size.

[wally @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:52AM]

How much noise does it make?

A fly swatter, a rolled up newspaper or a baseball bat would take care of it easily.

[Neil Kovac @ Jul 3rd 2009 7:15AM]

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, HAVE THEY LEARNED NOTHING FROM TERMINATOR ... WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!


On a more pratcial note; any villian (of which these critters are aimed at spying on) will of course ensure that an exclusion zone of one square mile is in place around any secret hideout or instalation ... i.e. gas all animals and scorch all land to ensure no one's spying on them. Maybe flying stones will be next, or puffy white clouds!

:o)

[Seoul Brother @ Jul 3rd 2009 7:34AM]

So now that they got this detail ironed out, the rest of the Mach 5 should be rolling along from the Racer Team...

[Aegis @ Jul 3rd 2009 8:23AM]

Finally the government is catching up with WowWee !

[denson_paul @ Jul 3rd 2009 9:44AM]

Oh man, the real sky-net is going to totally kill us all.

[denson_paul @ Jul 3rd 2009 9:45AM]

@Neil Kovac,

You beat me to it... :(