FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Monday, April 04, 2005

A Flock of Robots

Blogs of War, a blog that tracks military technology, reports that a defense contractor has successfully tested parasail robots that follow "flocking and swarming" algorithms to fly together in a tight formation toward a target without human intervention.



The behavior mimics animals such a birds, which can stay together even while making difficult flight maneuvers without colliding or scattering. Atair Aerospace has been conducting tests of this technology (called Onyx) on unmanned aeriel vehicles (UAVs) that can be used to airdrop weapons or supplies onto precise targets. Using Onyx, 50 or more UAVs can be dropped at once onto one or more targets.

Source: Smart Mobs