From Gizmag:
For some time now, engineers have been researching the possibility of equipping UAVs (unmanned air vehicles) with robotic arms. This week, DARPA announced that a successful test of just such an “armed” UAV has been performed.
DARPA utilized an existing V-Bat UAV, made by California-based MLB Company. The stock V-Bat can fly horizontally to quickly reach its destination, then hover in a tail-down orientation once it gets there.
The DARPA team added a folding robotic arm to the UAV, along with an inexpensive stereoscopic computer vision system – this incorporated one camera on the end of the arm, and another on the aircraft itself.
For the test, a 1-pound (454-gram) payload was attached to a hook on the end of the arm. Using its vision and GPS systems, the V-Bat then autonomously identified a step ladder, which was the object on which it had to place its payload. It proceeded to maneuver itself up alongside the ladder, extended its arm by six feet (1.8 meters), and placed the payload on the ladder.
“Our goal with the UAV payload emplacement demonstration was to show we could quickly develop and integrate the right technology to make this work,” said DARPA program manager Dan Pratt. “The success of the demonstration further enables the capabilities of future autonomous aerial vehicles.”
A video of the test (which apparently took place last September) can be seen below.
Comments
If this doesn't work out as an armed drone, it looks like it will be a very good remote controlled lawnmower. And if you can get rid of the transmitter, and replace it with a computer, maybe you can get rid of the human controlling the lawnmower. If the lawn is preprogrammed into it, the human can go do something more exciting than cut grass.
Steve from MLB was a guest on our podcast recently I'm not quite with the point of this arm though. If you can lift it, and its payload you could surely lift a little quad to fly the last few yards. Even dropping that quad from a fixed wing platform. Anyhow that's just me.