By David Pescovitz
"Robotic flying devices can be used to do things that humans can't do safely, like explore places filled with poison gas or explosive materials," says Paul MacCready, the founder of AeroVironment. The alternative transportation R&D company is developing the diminutive drones with funding from Darpa.
Weighing less than 2 ounces, this Black Widow can fly at 43 mph for up to 15 minutes. The lithium-battery-powered, radio-controlled, 6-inch micro air vehicle, or MAV, will soon carry a sugar-cube-sized video camera, giving its operator a bird's-eye view of an inaccessible area. But as the engineer famous for the Gossamer Albatross admits, "the planes could also fly into the window of the girls' dorm. Or the boys'."
ELECTRIC WORD
MicroSpy
