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
 |
Epson uFR Micro Flying Robot
Epson announced today that it has developed the uFR Micro Flying Robot, a prototype using micromechatronics (hey - and you were looking for a new-word-for-the-day) technology. The uFR will be displayed at the 2003 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo.
(Update: See the next generation uFR-II Micro Flying Robot.)
How does it work? This brief excerpt from their press release says it all:
The uFR, which will be shown at the exhibition, causes levitation by use of contra-rotating propellers powered by an ultra-thin, ultrasonic motor with the world's highest*4 power-weight ratio and can be balanced in mid-air by means of the world's first*5 stabilizing mechanism using a linear actuator. Furthermore, the essence of micromechatronics has been brought together in high-density mounting technology to minimize the size and weight of the circuitry's control unit.
For those of you who think that teeny flying nanomachines are the coming thing, read the smaller version - aerostat monitor from Neal Stephenson's 1995 novel The Diamond Age.
And just in case you didn't think that a personal flying machine would ever be supportable, see the copter harness from Robert Heinlein's 1954 novel The Star Beast.
See their press release at Epson Develops World's Smallest Flying Microrobot.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/18/2003)
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 ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.' - James Cameron (1984).
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...' Jerome K. Jerome, 1893.
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?' - Isaac Asimov (1940).
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...' - Philip K Dick, 1954.
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
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
