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Batcopter UAV observes anti-collision bat behavior, crashes into ground (video)
If you wander out into a gaggle of fellow humans in total darkness, chances are you're going to bump into one or two. Such is not the case for bats, which do much of their hunting after the sun sets. Boston University's Intelligent Mechatronics Lab launched operation Batcopter to better understand how bats can fly in clusters large enough to be detected by radar without colliding. Equipped with a GoPro 3D HD camera, GPS, and OpenPilot's CopterControl system, the 1.8-pound quadcopter UAV joined Brazilian free-tailed bats in the skies of South Texas, capturing some pretty cool footage along the way. A trio of high-speed infrared cameras positioned on the ground photographed the aircraft's interactions with the flying mammals, which seemed to maneuver around the man-made intruder without incident, until a rotor failure resulted in a Batcopter inversion and subsequent ground collision. Even so, the craft still managed to take to the skies. Jump past the break to see the crippled UAV in action, and hit up the source link for some awesome infrared footage and stills.
Light bulb networks could be the next WiFi
If researchers at Boston University's College of Engineering have their way, light bulbs of the future may be the highway your data gets carried along. A team at the school is working on low-power LEDs which could utilize an optical communication system to carry data wirelessly. Using a technique which rapidly switches the LEDs on and off data transmissions could be made via imperceptible -- yet undoubtedly brain-scrambling -- flickering patterns, and each light would be its own network entry point at speeds of 1 to 10Mbps. The concept is more secure than current RF techniques because it requires linked devices be in line-of-sight, and the technology would draw far less energy than conventional radios. Says professor Thomas Little, "Imagine if your computer, iPhone, TV, radio and thermostat could all communicate with you when you walked in a room just by flipping the wall light switch and without the usual cluster of wires." Yes... and talk about you behind your back. And plot your "accidental" death after taking out a large life insurance policy on you. You won't get away with this LED network! [Thanks, Travis]
GameLife's Rosenblum pleads not guilty to VT-style threat
Andrew Rosenblum, the host of video game show GameLife, who allegedly threatened to kill a girl he had dated has been placed under house arrest pending trial. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. A judge set bail at $50,000, told Rosenblum to keep away from Boston University where he's attending classes and ordered him to wear a GPS location device 24 hours a day.On the evening of the Virginia Tech massacre Rosenblum allegedly wrote in an IM to a girl he had previously dated that he would bring a gun to her school to kill her and others, and that "it's going to be VT all over again." Rosenblum will only be allowed to leave his home to visit his attorney or a doctor until his court date in June.
DARPA's zombie-shark trainer looking at non-military applications
Earlier this year we brought you news of an exciting DARPA-funded project whose goal was to take your common, household shark and turn it into a remote-controllable spy capable of gathering critical military intelligence such as the location of enemy mines and submarines. And sure enough, Boston University's Jelle Atema and his team learned how to crudely guide these kings of the sea using either electrical stimulation to mimic their natural neural processes or -- our favorite -- little gadgets attached to their noses that release delicious-smelling squid juice on cue. While Professor Atema was able to make a good deal of headway in his research, biologists still have a long way to go before they fully understand how sharks use odor stimuli to navigate, and DARPA funding ran out before any more progress could be made at BU: the zombie-shark project recently got sucked into the black hole that is classified military research. Despite the lack of support from Uncle Sam, however, Atema is eager to raise fresh funding in order to leverage his achievements into useful civilian applications; remote-control sharks could potentially be used to track fish populations, changes in ocean temperature, or chemical spills. But consider yourself warned: once we're able to lead these creatures around by the nose, so to speak, it's only a matter of time before some mad scientists (read: DARPA) equip them with bionic limbs, turning them into deadly, mythical land sharks; i.e. next time someone rings your doorbell and you hear a little voice whisper "candygram" from the other side, you'd better call animal control and then run like hell to grab that harpoon you keep in the attic. For more details about this project (but unfortunately, no mention of that land shark aspect we fabricated), check out the mini-documentary at the Read link... [Via Defense Tech]
