back to article BOT AN ABOMINATION: Mechanical DRONE VAMPIRE spreads wings

Swiss researchers, who developed a robot that can walk on its wings across tricky terrain, have flaunted their latest prototype which they hope could one day be used in search and rescue operations. Or something. Youtube Video The latest model from EPFL builds on the previous design of the drone, dubbed DALER (Deployable Air- …

  1. frank ly
    Coat

    "... a future application of the DALER might be to find victims in dangerous areas after a natural disaster."

    And then feast on their blood.

    Coat: I had to get that in - I'm going

    1. tony2heads
      Devil

      I thought that vampires had capes?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Bats got legs

    They just don't use them much except for hanging around. Can't optimize a bat for walking or it's no longer a bat. Yet the lab coats keep trying to blend one function with another incompatible function. Well, it's entertaining anyway.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Bats got legs

      That's why Vampire bats. They perambulate on the ground in a unique fashion with the help of the wings!

      1. cortland

        Re: Bats got legs

        I'm calling my Congressman; we gotta outlaw perambulators.

  3. DropBear

    Meh...

    If you want to see this done incomparably - INCOMPARABLY - better, look no further than this...

    1. Chris G

      Re: Meh...

      Wow! Much cooler than the bat but

      it looks as though flying is a real battery drainer so it is better on the ground. A shame the guy is having problems with his manufacturer, the 'B' car looks well engineered and useful.

      The Vampire bat may have an edge in terms of battery duration and mobility in a rubble filled building, kinda creepy looking but again nice out of the box engineering.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Meh...

      now, all it's lacking is a micro-missile launcher...

      Oh, not legal in this country?! Ah, never mind!

      1. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

        Re: Meh...

        AND a frikkin' LASER!

        1. Crisp

          Re: Meh...

          How about a laser guided micro missile?

        2. VinceH

          Re: Meh...

          "AND a frikkin' LASER!"

          But it's not a frikkin' shark!

          1. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

            Re: Meh...

            Details, schmetails

    3. sorry, what?
      Pint

      Re: Meh...

      Yes, much better. And it looks like it could actually cope with "tricky terrain" unlike this batty "drone" - the latter seems to have enough trouble coping with grass TBH.

  4. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    Nice.

    Some clever ideas there. I'll be even more impressed when it can take off again without needing a handy meat-bag to throw it into the air.

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Nice.

      Inherent design problem.

      Bats cannot do that either (though they need a tree, wall, etc instead of a meatbag).

      I was actually more impressed by how this moved in the air to be honest (again - not surprising).

    2. Mage Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Nice.

      Vampire bats can get airborne from the ground I think.

      "While other bats have almost lost the ability to maneuver on land, vampire bats can also run by using a unique, bounding gait, in which the forelimbs instead of the hindlimbs are recruited for force production, as the wings are much more powerful than the legs. This ability to run seems to have evolved independently within the bat lineage"

      "Once the common vampire bat locates a host, such as a sleeping mammal, it lands and approaches it on the ground"

      "To take off from the ground, the bat generates extra lift by crouching and flinging itself into the air."

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_bat

      No doubt they will add that feature next.

      The feeding fangs and laser will be added last, when Skynet is operational.

    3. macjules

      Re: Nice.

      I'd be more impressed to learn that it can convert blood into energy, recharge its batteries and fly on to the next victim ... err .. person waiting to be rescued.

  5. Captain DaFt

    So now we've got...

    search and rescue robots that look like:

    roaches, spiders, snakes, rats, and now vampire bats.

    I get the distinct feeling that whoever's designing these is simply intending to provide disaster victims with the incentive to rescue themselves and get the Hell outta there before the search and rescue robots show up.

    1. Robert Helpmann??
      Childcatcher

      Re: So now we've got...

      I was thinking more along the lines of military applications. Mimicking nature would help blend in more than something that looks obviously man made. I think it is cool to take a natural form as inspiration, but the solution that DropBear linked to would seem to be more practical if the goal was simply to go from land to air.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      search and rescue robots that look like: roaches, spiders, snakes, rats, and now vampire bats.

      cuddly teddies don't come with wings or 8 legs to cross difficult terrain. That said, if you gave a drone teddy a bicycle...

    3. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: So now we've got...

      Victims would perhaps be less terrified of the robo-vampire if it wore a black ribbon

      I'm going. The one with Carpe Jugulum in the pocket please

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The other side

    Before the break in security cameras picked up nothing unusual, the odd owl and one bat that must have passed close to the camera as it seemed oversize. Somehow the intruders had full 3D maps of the inner courtyard and it is believed may have gained some level of initial access via a ventilation grill on the maintenance area (a night shift engineer was later found to have succumbed to a poison dart).

    Once inside they did not trigger the heat based motion detection nor break beams that cover down to six inches. Later an unidentified device was found sitting on an inductive charging loop used by the robot vacuum cleaners, it is believed this may also be the root of the fire that destroyed the building and any evidence.

  7. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

    Maybe they should give Nasa a call.

    www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4457

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DALER

    I thought it was a typo for DIALER, i.e. one that dials home when batteries go flat.

    But then, it's got those (...) wings, how long before it can spread them and soak up the sun? And resume its march in pursuit of the last human alive on this planet? :(

  9. Ru'

    Meh. Put a brick in front of it and it doesn't look like it'll be able to get over it.

    Next.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yeah, that was my first thought on seeing it walk. Land it on rough or soft ground and the nose would just dig in.

      Also I don't see what advantage you get from landing anyway. If you need to give the victim a payload (torch, location finder, first aid kit) then you could do that by 'bombing' them from something better able to fly.

      A drone with a 3 foot wingspan designed for endurance and with an infra red camera looks a much better bet. If big enough it could even drop a robot capable of landing and then walking to the victim.

    2. macjules
      Megaphone

      Doesn't need to. Vampires can use those they have bitten to get them to do such mundane tasks as brick moving for them.

  10. Gruezi
    Happy

    That mondegreen made me chuckle :)

    Well done on the "misheard" Transformers song lyrics in the sub-heading. My 4 year old who is Transformers obsessed has been singing his version of the song all weekend and when I read it in the sub-heading it really made me laugh.

  11. John 104
    Gimp

    Fixed that for ya...

    The latest model from EPFL builds on the previous design of the drone, dubbed DALER DALEK

  12. Ben Bonsall
    Terminator

    Well, I for one welcome our new robot vampire overlords...

  13. cortland

    How?

    Common vampire? HOW common? Inquiring necks want to know.

    Make mine A Positive.

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