Researchers build the first hovering ornithopter ever.

[Martin]

"Mentor" looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a Chinese lantern as it soared toward the ceiling of a Toronto research center, its wings flapping furiously. Below, a bespectacled young man gingerly worked the joystick on a remote control. Mentor started hovering in place, and suddenly the sound of flapping was drowned by thunderous applause.
Mentor's maiden flight last spring marked a milestone in the age-old quest to build ornithopters -- aircraft propelled by flapping wings. Developed by the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies and SRI International, a nonprofit research and development corporation in Menlo Park, Calif., Mentor is the world's first hovering ornithopter.

cool!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8852-2003Aug31.html

edit:
here is a pic
http://www.onlineathens.com/images/072902/robot.jpg

and here is a 2.2mb video of another ornithopter
http://www.utias.utoronto.ca/pictures/launch.mpg

 

[MichaelD]

WARNING: Stealthed "you must be a member to view" webpage. :disgust:

Sounds like a cool article...link w/o getting frisked first?

 

[guapo337]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
WARNING: Stealthed "you must be a member to view" webpage. :disgust:

Sounds like a cool article...link w/o getting frisked first?

No it's not.

It asks for your DOB and area code.. That's about it.

 

[Eli]

That's kinda freaky. :Q

But really cool.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: guapo337

Originally posted by: MichaelD
WARNING: Stealthed "you must be a member to view" webpage. :disgust:

Sounds like a cool article...link w/o getting frisked first?

No it's not.

It asks for your DOB and area code.. That's about it.

I tried that..still doesnt work for me. maybe b/c I have cookies turned off? I am not turning them on either. The direct links work though, Marty! Thanks. I want one of these toys. 😀

 

[Schadenfroh]

Can i mount hellfire missiles on it?

 

[thelanx]

 

[thelanx]

whoa...cool

 

[Grey]

the video is awesome. Only a matter of time before they can scale it up now.

 

[Amorphus]

could anyone elaborate on the importance of ornithopters? we have pretty good flying machines now... planes that can hover AND fly... you know, do it like the ornithopter does, except without the mechanical wear and tear...

I mean, from my POV right now, its just an esoteric fancy.

Guy1: Hey, I bet you couldn't build an ornithopter!
Guy2: uh, Yah. I could. and it would pwn anything you could make
Guy1: Bull
Guy2: Yeah?
Guy1: You're on

and so it begins...

 

[Shale]

Thats really cool! But what use could it have in the future? It kinda seems like a step back, unless we start adding feathers, make them smaller, and use them to spy!