Micro-aerial vehicles, or MAVs as they're called in the elusive underground, are far from new, but a team from
NC State University is hoping to advance the field with an all new critter. The Robo-Bat is a remote controlled creature that relies on a super elastic shape-memory metal alloy for the joints, which is said to provide a full range of motion while enabling it to "always return to its original position -- a function performed by many tiny bones, cartilage and tendons in real bats." The crew is also utilizing other "smart materials" in the muscular system, giving it the ability to react in real time to environmental changes such as sudden wind gusts. Ideally, this bionic chiropteran would be used to chivvy those who dare step foot on Franklin Street or inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, but in less malicious situations, it could help well-meaning scientists get the bottom of that whole "aerodynamics" thing.
posted July 7th 2009 9:27AM
I want one!
me too
I want two
I want...to see a video of it working!
They said...
never mind
First zombie apocolypse, then robot revolution uprising, now this? Man we are doomed!
With any luck, the robots will decide to attack the zombies.
Remote controlled Vampires?
GO PACK!
Did anyone else read "super elastic shape-memory metal alloy for the joints, which is said to provide a full range of motion while enabling it to "always return to its original position" as "a spring"?
yes, reading is fun.
right...... they got that tech from the crashed ufo at area 51, but shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone else.
It is basically a spring, yes. But not the kind you shoot out of your ballpoint pen at the teacher during science class, I would think.
It is an alloy that has spring-like properties. Kind of like the coiled metal spring that used to be in thermostats. Some of the alloys react to heat, others electric current.
So yeah, you're kinda right.
In my best Telemundo announcer voice:
It's a glorified, new and improved, bionic, extreme, bold, game changing spring.
wolfpack!
VtS > Wolfpack
"Tar Holes"?
Enlighten me...
a name for us tar heels.
well, when it comes to march madness, it's pretty much unc and duke anyway
UNC, Duke, & NC State are all very close to each other. College basketball is huge in NC and the choice of allegiance to a particular school has been known to split families. Dukies = Duke fans, myself included & Tar holes = UNC fans (Their athletes are Tar heels but since most people that go to UNC are a$$ holes you get Tar holes).
Tar holes... I'd not heard that one/
John: spoken like a true dookie. It's a good thing that duke fans are known far and wide for the level of class they bring to the court...
* rolls eyes *
(though to be fair, dookies anent NEARLY as bad as Maryland fans...)
@John
I love how you use dollar signs when cursing...it reminds me that Dookies are all rich snobs from New Jersey...yeah Duke is the University of New Jersey, Durham campus.
Oh, and for the record, when we say the schools are "close", we mean that there is local transit that will take you between all three schools, and there is actually a dedicated bus between Duke and UNC.
Oh, and as for Maryland fans, they are most definitely the most obnoxious losers in the entire country, but the fact that they hate Duke makes it occasionally funny (because they do stuff that we at UNC would consider below us).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYOgC2Qbqh4&fmt=22
@ Brad Green: I'd have to agree that there are far too many New Yorkers/Jersey guidos at Duke, but they really only comprise about 15% of the student population (though they're so obnoxious that I guess it does seem like a lot more than that).
At the same time, UNCCH only takes about that many (15%) from out of state - not exactly picking from the cream of the academic crop, if you ask me. But hey, basketball championships make your degree more valuable, right? :)
Tar Holes, ha ha.
That's cool. NC State is the best!
I believe the correct spelling is Dookies.
no, dookies come out of your tar hole.
they all suck, boooo ACC, Big East FTW in 2010
Rofl. I love having a North Carolinian writer. Go Pack!
Yeah! Go Pack!
*bumps "Go Pack!"
It's really nice to go to the only school in the Triangle that has any hope of being posted on Engadget, isn't it, guys?
It is a grand change from the typical!
Go Pack!
Not just posted; it has its own tag!
I'd like one!
Have fun with your toys, losers. We Tar Heels are perfectly happy winning championships.
true dat
Right, because college is about winning a kids game. No one cares about doing anything meaningful at a university.
I think the title of this post says otherwise... That and NCSU hasn't been relevant in over 20 years.
If by relevant, you mean they aren't good at kid's games. I'll give you that. As a university where one can get a good education. You couldn't be more wrong.
we had 3 championships this year, but thanks for playing ;-)
"We?" So... you're on the team, then?
But will this survive a ride on the outside of the Space Shuttle? (Space Bat, may you rest in peace little buddy)
Did anyone else have the movie The Birds flash in their heads upon reading this?
Beyond the ditches West of Raleigh, there lies a place called Hell.
GO PACK!
You made my day.
Is it the end of the world yet?
Bravo on the title ... I'm a NCSU grad =)
I can tell you have some experience with the rivalries around here.
HEELS! (you know - the national champs!)
In Ultimate Frisbee? Sportist.
Damn, so I should have picked State over UNC for my Ph.D? Guess I need to go back and tell State that I will in fact accept their admission.