NC State gurus build remote control bats, freak out Dukies and Tar Holes

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.

[Dominick @ Jul 7th 2009 9:32AM]

I want one!

[j.howlett @ Jul 7th 2009 10:26AM]

me too

[pball_inuyaha @ Jul 7th 2009 11:27AM]

I want two

[BobSpaceTech @ Jul 7th 2009 1:07PM]

I want...to see a video of it working!

[strider_mt2k @ Jul 7th 2009 9:35AM]

They said...

never mind

[ProfessorKaos @ Jul 7th 2009 9:35AM]

First zombie apocolypse, then robot revolution uprising, now this? Man we are doomed!

[Quantumphysics @ Jul 7th 2009 10:50AM]

With any luck, the robots will decide to attack the zombies.

[John Doe @ Jul 7th 2009 9:39AM]

Remote controlled Vampires?

[d9hp @ Jul 7th 2009 9:44AM]

GO PACK!

[Justin @ Jul 7th 2009 9:45AM]

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"?

[OneLove @ Jul 7th 2009 9:49AM]

yes, reading is fun.

[hangfire @ Jul 7th 2009 9:51AM]

right...... they got that tech from the crashed ufo at area 51, but shhhhhhh, don't tell anyone else.

[DeoWulf @ Jul 7th 2009 9:52AM]

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.

[Kali4 @ Jul 7th 2009 2:16PM]

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.

[Dustin @ Jul 7th 2009 9:55AM]

wolfpack!

[JZ @ Jul 7th 2009 10:12AM]

VtS > Wolfpack

[Thunda Chunky @ Jul 7th 2009 9:45AM]

"Tar Holes"?

Enlighten me...

[d @ Jul 7th 2009 9:58AM]

a name for us tar heels.
well, when it comes to march madness, it's pretty much unc and duke anyway

[John @ Jul 7th 2009 9:59AM]

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).

[Willis @ Jul 7th 2009 10:26AM]

Tar holes... I'd not heard that one/

[kai312 @ Jul 7th 2009 12:41PM]

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...)

[Brad Green @ Jul 7th 2009 6:24PM]

@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

[Drew @ Jul 7th 2009 8:02PM]

@ 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? :)

[fashionista @ Jul 7th 2009 9:45AM]

Tar Holes, ha ha.

[ionman @ Jul 7th 2009 9:58AM]

That's cool. NC State is the best!

[Andrew @ Jul 7th 2009 9:48AM]

I believe the correct spelling is Dookies.

[OneLove @ Jul 7th 2009 9:50AM]

no, dookies come out of your tar hole.

[Josh @ Jul 7th 2009 11:43AM]

they all suck, boooo ACC, Big East FTW in 2010

[DeoWulf @ Jul 7th 2009 9:51AM]

Rofl. I love having a North Carolinian writer. Go Pack!

[Darren @ Jul 7th 2009 9:56AM]

Yeah! Go Pack!

[NuFsAiD @ Jul 7th 2009 10:07AM]

*bumps "Go Pack!"

[TMS @ Jul 7th 2009 10:45AM]

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?

[FreshJulius @ Jul 7th 2009 10:48AM]

It is a grand change from the typical!

Go Pack!

[DeoWulf @ Jul 7th 2009 10:59AM]

Not just posted; it has its own tag!

[Troy @ Jul 7th 2009 9:52AM]

I'd like one!

[Nick @ Jul 7th 2009 9:56AM]

Have fun with your toys, losers. We Tar Heels are perfectly happy winning championships.

[d @ Jul 7th 2009 9:59AM]

true dat

[Jason @ Jul 7th 2009 10:08AM]

Right, because college is about winning a kids game. No one cares about doing anything meaningful at a university.

[Nick @ Jul 7th 2009 10:21AM]

I think the title of this post says otherwise... That and NCSU hasn't been relevant in over 20 years.

[jason @ Jul 7th 2009 10:39AM]

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.

[Lionhart @ Jul 7th 2009 10:50AM]

we had 3 championships this year, but thanks for playing ;-)

[GRAMMAR POLICE @ Jul 7th 2009 11:14AM]

"We?" So... you're on the team, then?

[Timmy @ Jul 7th 2009 10:01AM]

But will this survive a ride on the outside of the Space Shuttle? (Space Bat, may you rest in peace little buddy)

[Dayne @ Jul 7th 2009 10:03AM]

Did anyone else have the movie The Birds flash in their heads upon reading this?

[laser_llama @ Jul 7th 2009 10:04AM]

Beyond the ditches West of Raleigh, there lies a place called Hell.

GO PACK!

You made my day.

[10minutehobo @ Jul 7th 2009 10:06AM]

Is it the end of the world yet?

[AlexNC @ Jul 7th 2009 10:53AM]

Bravo on the title ... I'm a NCSU grad =)
I can tell you have some experience with the rivalries around here.

[Firelight @ Jul 7th 2009 10:21AM]

HEELS! (you know - the national champs!)

[laser_llama @ Jul 7th 2009 6:52PM]

In Ultimate Frisbee? Sportist.

[Robert @ Jul 7th 2009 10:32AM]

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.