[Via Engadget]
I have seen some pretty amazing autonomous maneuvers with standard helicopters. I always assumed that quads should be capable of pretty crazy maneuvers but have never seen any. Well the wait is over. Check out the project page over at Daniel Mellinger’s UPenn site. On a site note. it looks like perching is going to be the new must have for MAV’s.
This is a very cool project out of Stanford. It is a MAV that can land on rough surfaces and hang there. The possibilities that come with this capability are far reaching. Recharging, hiding, surveillance and seeking refuge are just a few. Put an eInk skin on its back, weaponize it and you have a nasty little urban MAV.
via DIY Drones
This seems to be the next iteration of Berkeley’s cutout robot. I think the most interesting part about this concept are the build process and materials. Every time I see something like this I am reminded that I REALLY WANT a laser cutter :).
Here is a really cool demonstration of soft body robotics and locomotion using “jamming”. As far as I can see they use a balloon filled with sand (kind of like those stress balls) and then suck the air out of it to make it maintain a more rigid shape. This seems like it would be fairly easy to replicate cheaply.
