BionicOpter

So a friend sent me this article on the weekend about a fully functional remote control dragonfly (link below).

http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/bionicopter-dragonfly-drone/

Ever since recorded history, humans have always been fascinated with the ability of flight and have had the dream to fly. The Wright Brothers are widely credited for being the first inventors to successfully fly an airplane in 1903. Ever since those early flights, humanity has invented all manners of aircraft from helicopters and hovering jets that can land and take-off vertically (The British Harrier) to super sonic jets that can technically come to a halt mid air and then jet off to another direction (The Cobra Manoeuvre in the Russian made Su-27s). In March 2013 the engineering and robotics design company, Boston Dynamics, based in Massachusetts USA introduced the BionicOpter. It is a 17.3 inch long dragonfly drone (see image below for a size comparison) that can mimic the exact flight of a dragonfly in nature, using four wings that flap instantaneously up to 20 times per second. The drone's flight is controlled via an app installed on a smart phone and runs on a two cell lithium ion battery. The link provided above also has a video of the drone in flight, and even though it does not seem like something out of a James Cameron movie with CGI aliens, it comes pretty damn close and is very impressive. Watch it and let me know what you think about it, in the comment section below.

The question would be whether this technology is actually capable of flight on a larger scale (yes, i am thinking of a helicopter sized dragonfly!!)?? If they can make a helicopter sized replica of this dragonfly take flight and carry personnel and baggage, then i think that would ultimately spell the retirement of the current generation of helicopters with spinning blades. This dragon fly model will have a lot more manoeuvrability and control in flight on a battlefield than the current generation of helicopters.

Ultimately if this does catch on and they do make helicopter sized models of this i would be smashing my piggy bank to buy one!!!

Maisam Abbas