Skynet is coming.

[rjaypeters]

This will be Skynet's vehicle of choice for maintaining ubiquitous surveillance of humanity before we are wiped out: The Robot Dragonfly by TechJet, Inc.

http://www.techject.com/

Before that time, governments and businesses will find also find it useful for the same ubiquitous surveillance.

[choff]

Once they make it the size of a bumblebee and give it a curare stinger we're done for. They can send a whole swarm to take out a crowd.

[rjaypeters]

Curare! Old school (but in a good way). I'd expect Skynet to use a nerve toxin.

[ladajo]

Or nanites that melt your nervous system tissue.

[paperburn1]

Time to build the EMP pulse machine.

[ladajo]

Plastic nanites with chemical mechanics.

Hah!

[paperburn1]

We are all dooooommmed!! Doomed to be a puddle of goop I say.

[Skipjack]

Just throwing this in here... more attack drones:
http://www.gizmag.com/taranis-first-flight/30730/

[ladajo]

In flight re-fueling, nice.

They also seem reluctant to show any detail of the intake. Interesting.

Glad to see it finally got up.

[Diogenes]

Researchers spin a yarn into a muscle

An unusually simple approach to artificial muscles – based on high-strength polymer fibres – has been developed by an international team of researchers. Rather than needing sophisticated or expensive materials, the muscles can be produced from simple polymers that are used to make fishing-line or sewing threads. When heated, these fibres can shorten or lengthen far more than biological muscle, and could be used for applications as diverse as temperature-sensitive window shutters, "smart" clothing and robotics.

http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/new ... o-a-muscle

[rjaypeters]

It's past time to stop posting on this subject! With Diogenes last find, Skynet will have the penultimate technology needed to create Terminators. The remaining, of course, is energy storage with sufficient energy and power density... Let's hope we don't provide that also.

In another vein, the USN is looking at making the UCLASS a fighter, more a missile truck, but you get the idea:

http://news.usni.org/2014/02/13/navys-u ... ir-fighter

[rjaypeters]

Oh...shit.

Not one, but two guided bullets:

One from the clever boys and girls at Sandia National Lab and the other from DARPA:

http://www.guns.com/2012/07/26/exacto-d ... ed-bullet/

Never mind about not posting here, it is too late...

[DeltaV]

Stigmergy.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2 ... wjRXVKPKt8



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XFsakDn-k

The little critter looks pissed when his bricks get stolen.

[rjaypeters]

Another autonomous insect drone:

Dutch Scientists Flap to the Future with "Insect" Drone

"This is the DelFLy Explorer, the world's smallest drone with flapping wings that's able to fly around by itself and avoid obstacles," its proud developer Guido de Croon of the Delft Technical University told AFP.

Weighing just 20 grammes (less than an ounce), around the same as four sheets of printer paper, the robot dragonfly could be used in situations where much heavier quadcopters with spinning blades would be hazardous, such as flying over the audience to film a concert or sport event."

http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-scientists- ... 06036.html

[ladajo]

Not very subtle is it?