

World’s first hummingbird-like unmanned aircraft system takes flight - joetek
http://www.gizmag.com/aerovironment-nano-hummingbird/17918/

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Detrus
Real hummingbirds are the most energy intensive birds. They have a very low
margin for error, a few hours without feeding at best.

<http://www.blurtit.com/q890088.html>

"A 4-gram hummingbird has a basic metabolic rate of 1,400 calories per gram.
In repose, a hummingbird's metabolism rate is 25 times that of a domestic
fowl. If a person had such a high metabolic rate, he would have to eat twice
his body weight daily, his temperature would be 750 degrees F, and he would
consume 155,000 calories per day."

It's probably marginally better than helicopters.

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slavak
That is the first ornithopter that I've seen that seems to demonstrate flying
capabilities similar to those of birds - something which might be very -other
than- only for the curiosity of a plane that flies by flapping its wings.
Color me excited.

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huertanix
Anyone know its battery life? I'd think at least 20 minutes of flight time
would be needed to take this from expensive cat-toy to a surveillance tool.

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ph0rque
At least 11 minutes (DARPA requirement mentioned in the article).

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rflrob
I think it's neat how, at times in the second video, the wings are phased with
the camera, so it looks like they are completely stationary.

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koops
It won't take long before this gets weaponized. Then safety as well as privacy
will suffer mightily.

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lukifer
It's difficult to name a technology of which this is not true.

