NewsHottie
12th Jan 2010, 16:20
http://dvice.com/assets_c/2010/01/landspeeder-thumb-thumb-550x120-31857.jpgApparently old Star Wars movies are a great source for ideas for the latest drones. This one's called the AirMule, a robotic ambulance and cargo hauler built by Israeli company Urban Aeronautics. The 730hp craft just completed its first phase of flight testing, autonomously hovering 2 feet off the ground, steered by a four-channel flight control system that automatically keeps it stable.
There's a catch, though. In its initial tests, safety wires held this crazy hovercraft in place. If it can pass its next tests without wires, the U.S. military might soon have itself a tiny medivac helicopter that can squeeze into tight urban environments, unlike any other helicopters or fixed wing aircraft.
Urban Aeronautics (http://www.urbanaero.com/Frame-whatsnew.htm), via Danger Room (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01/picture-real-life-landspeeder-takes-off/)
More... (http://dvice.com/archives/2010/01/landspeeder-and.php)
There's a catch, though. In its initial tests, safety wires held this crazy hovercraft in place. If it can pass its next tests without wires, the U.S. military might soon have itself a tiny medivac helicopter that can squeeze into tight urban environments, unlike any other helicopters or fixed wing aircraft.
Urban Aeronautics (http://www.urbanaero.com/Frame-whatsnew.htm), via Danger Room (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/01/picture-real-life-landspeeder-takes-off/)
More... (http://dvice.com/archives/2010/01/landspeeder-and.php)