Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Micro Air Vehicle In Use In Iraq
Honeywell's micro air vehicle, which uses a lift-augmented ducted fan propulsion system providing true VTOL capability, is now in use in Iraq by the US Army.
(Micro Air Vehicle on patrol)
The MAV is being used to check for roadside bombs and ambushes; it can carry regular day cameras, as well as thermal systems for night use. Streaming real-time video is sent to a ground station for evaluation by troops; the entire system can be carried in two backpacks.
The Micro Air Vehicle offers both "hover and stare" as well as "perch and stare" capabilities; it can hover at altitudes as high as 10,500 feet, or it can land and continue sending video. The MAV has performed well in urban environments as well as open field; it can even function in confined spaces.
When I saw this thing maneuver (see Honeywell MAV video), I thought that the US Army was using Imperial Probe Droids. This well-known Star Wars technology uses repulsorlift engines to hover while its arms touch the ground to gather samples. Probe droids are autonomous robots that can be dispatched over interstellar distances to send back data and video.
(Imperial Probe Droid [Star Wars])
UK readers may want to compare the Micro Air Vehicle with the flying golden Daleks from past seasons of Dr. Who. Once famed as a level-ground-based race of irritable extraterrestrial mutants integrated with impenetrable cases of pure dalekanium, Daleks were given thruster-powered flight after fans derided them for being unable to even climb stairs. (Other fans stated that, rather than climb stairs, Daleks would simply level the building.)
(Golden flying bling Dalek)
SF movie fans might also recall Michael Crichton's 1985 movie Runaway, about a special police group that specialized in dealing with robots gone out of control. In the film, a floater camera is used to gain more information about a hostage situation.
(Top view of floater camera from Runaway)
Read more about Michael Crichton's floater camera.
Read more about MAVs in the news at The Register and Defense Review; see also Honeywell's micro air vehicle page.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/8/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Vipera Electric Skis From Frigid Dynamics
'JOAN strapped on her power-skis...'
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
'He carried on his person a triggering mechanism sensitive to his heartbeat.'
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
