Insect-Inspired Flying Robot Handles Collisions And Keeps Going

Sabine Hauert writes "GimBall is a new flying robot that can collide with objects seamlessly. Generally, flying robots are programmed to avoid obstacles, which is far from easy in cluttered environments. Instead, researchers from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL believe that flying robots should be able to physically interact with their surroundings. Take insects: they often collide with obstacles and continue flying afterwards. Their robot uses a passively rotating spherical cage to remain stable even after taking hits from all sides. This approach enables GimBall to fly in the most difficult places without complex sensors."

Insect like?

[Doug Otto]

When I read "insect like robot" I don't expect it to be the size of a basketball. Thankfully, insects aren't that big where I live.

Re:Any more....

[timeOday]

Jesus you whiny babies! This thing is cool, it does something new. Quit nitpicking whatever analogies somebody decided to apply to it (insects) or whatever preconceptions you're bringing for no reason at all (autonomy, slashvertisements). Either post a video of a different aircraft pushing its way through ferns and a maze of ceiling joists, or quit bitching... what it does is really neat!