Posted on 11/19/2003 12:05:58 PM PST by mgstarr
The world's lightest and smallest robot helicopter has been unveiled at a Tokyo exhibition by the Seiko Epson company. The designers say the 70-mm-tall device could be used as a "flying camera" to enter earthquake-shattered buildings.
The prototype four-legged robot weighs 10 grammes and although it flies by remote control, it has to be linked to an external power source via a cable.
Seiko Epson manger Junji Ajioka said he was looking for another firm to help develop a super-lightweight battery.
"That's why we showed this robot at the exhibition. We want to attract battery makers who can manufacture a very light battery for us," he said, adding the company had yet to set a date for marketing the robot.
"The robot has a camera and can fly into dangerous areas or areas hit by disasters in place of human beings. In a word, it functions as an eye," said the manager of Seiko Epson's strategic business development division.
It has taken the company three years to get the vehicle to its current stage of development.
The biennial 2003 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo is always a major draw.
It has become a showcase for leading manufacturers to demonstrate their concept machines.
Organisers expect about 100,000 people to attend the four-day event.
OK, external control and external power via cable...so how is this different from the old VertiBird helicopter toy?
Looks like they're working on that aspect:
Seiko Epson manger Junji Ajioka said he was looking for another firm to help develop a super-lightweight battery. "That's why we showed this robot at the exhibition. We want to attract battery makers who can manufacture a very light battery for us," he said, adding the company had yet to set a date for marketing the robot.
But those two aspects are what would constitute the entire substance of the accomplishment, if you had them. With good enough software and storage batteries, you could rule the world, certainly.
So true. I like to just sit and watch the squirrel turf wars in the woods behind our house. Packed into those lumps of fur is an amazing control system as well as loads of energy. Of course, it took more than three years to design a squirrel.
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