Drone Week - May 9

I've been a bit busy lately, and haven't had time to do my weekly wrap-ups of drones in the news but here goes: Apparently some chaps at the Imperial College London have created a drone that works as a 3D printer, in that it sprays out a foam-like substance as it flies and can build things. It's supposed to mimic the way that swifts (a type of bird) build their nests, and the researchers say it can be used to repair areas inaccessible to humans, like wind-turbines.

Slashdot reports that in March, a passenger plane nearly collided with a civilian drone. As our skies fill with these little objects, this type of thing will become increasingly common.

And if that didn't terrify you, the news that DARPA is getting funding to create swarms of drones that are less reliant on their human operators and work more as a team with each other might.

 

 

And while it's not really a "drone", a company in Florida has created a little running robot called the "Outrunner" than reach speeds of 20mph. It seems to be an early version, so it will be interesting to see what else they can do with it and if it will have any uses.,

 

http://io9.com/darpa-wants-to-teach-military-drones-the-meaning-of-tea-1572126878