Swiss lab builds lightweight, tree-perching glider robot, swarms to follow
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 1st 2010 8:28AM
posted July 1st 2010 8:28AM
Last we heard from Mirko Kovac of the Switzerland-based EPFL Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, he was setting a robot high-jump record with his grasshopper-inspired bot. Now he's back with what might be an even more impressive robot -- a 4.6 gram glider that can fly headfirst into any surface, perch itself, and then detach on command. The idea there being that the gliders could be outfitted with sensors and deployed en masse in difficult to reach areas -- Kovac gives the example of a swarm equipped with heat-sensors that could attach themselves to trees and monitor for forest fires. What's more, he says that the same perching mechanism could also be applied to other robots -- possibly even a hybrid of the glider and his grasshopper bot that could hop and fly around before finding a spot to perch itself. Head on past the break to see Kovac explain it himself on video.
That could be very useful to protect crops against grasshopper swarms in developing countries. Three cheers for this simple yet promising idea.
@nikotttin Would also be quite efficient in massacring the human race.
Skynet will use this as a device that inject mini robots to your body then it will make you a part of the network.
@ZeCoder
This would be great if they could use these to film some crazy shots for a documentary like Planet Earth.
@rutter9 would need to be a damn big scale up to get any planet earth cameras anywhere
@nikotttin what if it is used for docking on justin bieber face and do some make up.? Doesn't it sound revolutionary?
@Pickaxe
or to replace storks as the most efficient method of baby delivery
i don't give a shit about mosquito flying robots whatever..
That mate is hot!!
All your trees are belong to us
Something about this reminds me of Woodman's stage from Mega Man 2.
@Funke Tobias Dr The second object, the jumping one, reminds me of watches...I guess the Swiss are putting their watch wisdom to work!
The only application I could think of was the one presented in the movie Dune with small robot flying to its target.
That looks an awful lot like Horizon Hobby's Vapor and that's been around for a couple years.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZU1180
Aaahh EPFL... filling a chemistry lab with some dodgy gas from a failed experiment... good times :)
I sould not that the link I posted it to the new version of the Vapor. There was a previous model that wasn't built to fly at night.
scalable!?
*gets hit, then stabbed by 12ft giant glider with big pointy needles*
arghh!
am i the only one who has no idea what that picture is about? then again, i have no video behind this stupid corporate firewall
What happens if a child got hit in the face with one of these, are they toys or what
Scalable? Cool! Can't wait for the demo with a 747...
I can't find app for this in appstore.
@metanup
patience li'l grasshopper robot
Fly, my pretties!
Hmm, and to defend against these tiny gliders just use any household electric fan.
@Rainier
A can of hairspray and a lighter would be much more entertaining.
@kenjennings Indeed it would!
Aaaaaaargh, that's our arch enemies from freakin Lausanne!!
Soon we're gonna start a robo-war between ETH and EPFL
This is all fine until creepy people get their hands on them and start perching them in places they shouldn't be.
It's like satanic Saran wrap with wings.
Am I the only one seeing future Boing 747s attaching to skyscrapers instead of tearing them down?