Meet Leo. This is scary

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I can't see "many" millions being spent to develop this robot.

Did you look at what this establishment is into ?
It’s big bucks.

 

[GFields]

Interesting, thanks for sharing

 

[Mavic-Master88]

Did you look at what this establishment is into ?
It’s big bucks.

Maybe millions in "brain-power hours" but not materials.

I'm not that familiar with university research grants but they can easily be in the millions of dollars, but 90% of that is for paying talented professors and grad students for their time in developing these wondrous machines on the cutting edge.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Maybe millions in "brain-power hours" but not materials.

It all boils down to what goes into it, time, actual costs, repetitive design changes and mods until it's starting to show final potential.
Working with NASA on projects is not small time research.

But yeah, a lot of student hours will go into it.
What's a uni / tech centre like this cost to run, someone is paying for it.

 

[Mavic-Master88]

It all boils down to what goes into it, time, actual costs, repetitive design changes and mods until it's starting to show final potential.

Research universities get the big bucks for this kind of stuff because of the academic approach to tech innovation --- everything will be meticulously documented so that any errors, bugs, or anomalies can be readily identified as they continue to iterate on future designs.

If you give your research money to bunch of average Joes who like to tinker and experiment, you might get something similar to this drone but it will lack all the documentation and rigorous testing and there will be no progress on future designs. It would be like allowing the Wright Brothers to develop the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Good intent but disastrous outcomes.

 

[Bransty]

Will it work on Android? Goggles? How long's battery life? Should i wait for version 3?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I find it funny that most of the posts are what good is this to me? LOL Well I am sure this would be out of most of our price range and usefulness. Something like this will be geared to some kind of industry or even SAR where humans cannot go.
My brother is a retired high school teacher. His last 15 years of teaching students he spent most of his time teaching robotics. It is amazing what these kids learn to do. Ever watch those robotic wars on TV? Lots of them start with high school kids.

REC Foundation

Inspiring students, one robot at a time.

www.roboticseducation.org

 

[Len750]

I still can't understand this way of thinking. So if somebody came over to your house in 1870 and showed you a little car that was a foot long and ran on gasoline, you're saying you would look at it moving across your floor and think "interesting little toy but I see no other practical use for it" ??

To me, I see this little flying "toy" robot and it scares the hell outta me. Because I know the military-industrial complex is hell-bent to keep working on it until it's 8 feet tall and equipped with all kinds of automatic weaponry and ready to kill anything in sight. Law enforcement will love stuff like this for "crowd control".

I like this guy. He grew up and lost his props!

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[RobertBurr]

The guy that invented the wheel couldn't catch a break. The telephone was a "useless invention." And the bread slicer was considered ridiculous.

This little proof of concept is amazing. Absolutely fantastical. It's all about the various bits of hardware, the gyros, the motors, and software logic coming together to function, introducing refinements, looking for flaws, understanding the dynamics, working out the logistics.

The teams that create and implement such projects are sitting on the bleeding edge of technology, an incredibly valuable knowledge set. But, if you don't get it, that's OK too.

 

[Mavic-Master88]

I like this guy. He grew up and lost his props!

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I can't wait to have my own personal Assassin Robot! Make your enemies pay the right way!

In all seriousness, I think a fully robotic/drone future is right around the corner. Only a handful of people at Xerox PARC in the mid-70's knew that GUI electronic devices would become the norm by 2000. And only a handful of people in the mid-80's knew cell phones would become ubiquitous daily life devices by 2010. So are we the cool folks who realize autonomous drones and robots will be the everday norm by 2040? Yeah, I think so.

 

[Mavic-Master88]

The teams that create and implement such projects are sitting on the bleeding edge of technology, an incredibly valuable knowledge set. But, if you don't get it, that's OK too.

I just am always perplexed at the folks who don't get it. Did they fail history class or something?

Because if you read the history textbooks, a LOT of people laughed at Alexander Graham Bell when he said telephones would become ubiquitous devices. And a LOT of people laughed at Edison when he said the whole world would be electrified. And a LOT of people laughed when the Wright Brothers tinkered in their bike shop inventing a "flying machine". And a LOT of people laughed at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates when they said desktop computers would soon become cheap and commonplace.

So I do NOT want to hear anyone in here mocking the idea of affordable transport drones in the near future. Y'all supposed to be smarter than that, or at least smart enough to look at how tech always wins the day in the end.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I just want one of those in the garage that can mow the lawn and use its props to trim the hedge and chase the odd cat out of the garden. Hang him back up when he is down on his own little charging station. LOL

 

[Galeforce1]

If it can be weaponised, you can be sure it will be. I bet the military is onto it already.

 

[lissforester]

Tbh, I don't see a practical application either. I see no camera. Its walking is equal to that of a sloth. I think the drone portion of the robot is to help it overcome obstacles it can't walk over/around. So other than that, it's just something to look at and think it's cool. Just my personal opinion.

Ha ha!
They Laughed at Barnes Wallace when he first started talking about a bouncing bomb that could bounce across water like a skimming stone.
Watch this drone tech and see what becomes of it, I bet they can replace its Tager with a Colt 45

 

[Mavic-Master88]

If it can be weaponised, you can be sure it will be. I bet the military is onto it already.

No doubt about it.

I can recall seeing many video clips in the past 20 years of U.S. Marines taking fire and being fired upon by Taliban in Afghanistan. The enemy was holed up in a house 300 yards away. How much would the military love to deploy these armed robots to march towards the house and knock down the door and start blastin without fear of casualties?

Any military would be salivating over this kind of technology.

 

[Bryan L]

I can't believe nobody came up with the ED-209!

 

[jaswalt]

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Just a whole lot creepy looking! Very cool, but creepy!

 

[jaswalt]

Tbh, I don't see a practical application either. I see no camera. Its walking is equal to that of a sloth. I think the drone portion of the robot is to help it overcome obstacles it can't walk over/around. So other than that, it's just something to look at and think it's cool. Just my personal opinion.

I kind of doubt there was a camera in the very first prototype quad copters, either, but they are there now. And even sloths have a reason for being. I'll be honest, I'm really struggling to think what that might be at the moment, but I'm sure there is one--even if it's just to humor us or make us wonder how any part of them could have ever been an evolutionary advantage. This little dude might not have a purpose at the moment, but like most current tech we have today, almost all of it had a starting point. I just hope whatever that eventual purpose is, it's not as creepy as this thing seems to be at the moment.

 

[eEridani]

Sloths have outlived the dinosaurs, and probably will the human race - so don't underestimate their intelligence.

 

[jaswalt]

Sloths have outlived the dinosaurs, and probably will the human race - so don't underestimate their intelligence.

I'm not sure I've ever heard of their intelligence, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they are. But if I'm being honest, they would have to be. I think their slovenly nature is evidence of their intelligence. Since they cannot get away from even the slowest predator should one decide to attack, choosing to allow themselves to become so filthy dirty, and hence unpalatable, is a pretty ingenious plan.