Content ID:
Field:


  • About Smithsonian
  • Email Updates
  • Member Services
  • Shop
  • Archive
Smithsonian.com
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Smithsonian Channel
  • goSmithsonian
  • Air & Space magazine
  • Home
  • History & Archaeology
  • People & Places
  • Science & Nature
  • Arts & Culture
  • Travel
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Games & Puzzles
  • Subscribe
  • Science & Nature

R2-D2 Gets Real

Keep your eyes on the sky--a flock of robots may be heading your way

  • By Fred Hapgood
  • Smithsonian magazine, March 1998

Article Tools

  • Font
  • Share/Save/Bookmark Share
  • Email
  • Print
  • Digg Digg
  • Comments
  • StumbleUpon StumbleUpon
  • RSS
  • Reddit Reddit

    "On some level we have always known that when robots arrived, some serious accommodations would be required," writes Fred Hapgood. Somehow we'd always assumed, though, that they'd arrive on legs or wheels, not by propeller. Last summer, as a group of students descended on Orlando, Florida, to launch autonomous-flight vehicles in the seventh annual International Aerial Robotics Competition, a few private companies, research institutes and the Air Force were already testing what could only be described as flying robots.

    In the March issue of Smithsonian Magazine, meet Dave Kroetsch and Pawel Lukasynski, two high school students from Kitchener, Ontario, who decided one day that they needed a "challenging" class project. Together they built an autonomous flyer in just nine months, entered it in the robotics competition and did surprisingly well. Like Dave and Pawel, the world's engineers are quickly working out the technologies that could make flying robots ubiquitous. And while the machines may be very difficult to build at this point, the key attraction is that they would be very easy to fly, requiring perhaps no more skill than a human command to fly from point A to point B.

    As the technology develops, safety becomes a research theme. The FAA has not yet released regulations for flying robots. Other issues will ultimately need to be discussed. Will, for example, the Fourth Amendment permit continuous surveillance from the air? Join Fred Hapgood as he explores this technological frontier and the issues surrounding it.

    "On some level we have always known that when robots arrived, some serious accommodations would be required," writes Fred Hapgood. Somehow we'd always assumed, though, that they'd arrive on legs or wheels, not by propeller. Last summer, as a group of students descended on Orlando, Florida, to launch autonomous-flight vehicles in the seventh annual International Aerial Robotics Competition, a few private companies, research institutes and the Air Force were already testing what could only be described as flying robots.

    In the March issue of Smithsonian Magazine, meet Dave Kroetsch and Pawel Lukasynski, two high school students from Kitchener, Ontario, who decided one day that they needed a "challenging" class project. Together they built an autonomous flyer in just nine months, entered it in the robotics competition and did surprisingly well. Like Dave and Pawel, the world's engineers are quickly working out the technologies that could make flying robots ubiquitous. And while the machines may be very difficult to build at this point, the key attraction is that they would be very easy to fly, requiring perhaps no more skill than a human command to fly from point A to point B.

    As the technology develops, safety becomes a research theme. The FAA has not yet released regulations for flying robots. Other issues will ultimately need to be discussed. Will, for example, the Fourth Amendment permit continuous surveillance from the air? Join Fred Hapgood as he explores this technological frontier and the issues surrounding it.

     
    Comments

    Post a Comment


    Name: (required)

    Email: (required)

    Comment:

    Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.



    Advertisement


    Most Popular Video

    • Newest
    • Most Viewed

    The Art of Gaman: Crafts from the Japanese Internment Camps

    (4:59)

    The Sights and Tastes of Hanoi

    (02:21)

    Unearthing Our Roots

    Unearthing Our Roots

    Mustangs: Spirits of the Wild West

    Mustangs: Spirits of the Wild West

    (04:18)

    View All Newest Videos »

    Mustangs: Spirits of the Wild West

    (04:18)

    The Sights and Tastes of Hanoi

    (02:21)

    Unearthing Our Roots

    The Art of Gaman: Crafts from the Japanese Internment Camps

    (4:59)

    View All Most Popular Videos »

    Most Popular

    • Viewed
    • Emailed
    • Commented
    1. The Search for the Guggenheim Treasure
    2. A Closer Look at Evolutionary Faces
    3. Photo Contest Finalist - Yang Mai Yong Mountain Under Moonlight
    4. Top Ten Reasons to Beware the Ides of March
    5. Photo Contest Finalist - Lonely coffee break
    6. Photo Contest Finalist - A group of young Menonite women at the scenic overlook
    7. Photo Contest Finalist - Wildfires at Myrtle Beach
    8. Photo Contest Finalist - Cowboy atop his mule in the auction barn
    9. Photo Contest Finalist - Alpine cabin at night
    10. Who's Fueling Whom?
    1. The Search for the Guggenheim Treasure
    2. Henrietta Lacks’ ‘Immortal’ Cells
    3. Top Ten Reasons to Beware the Ides of March
    4. The Political History of Cap and Trade
    5. Searching for Hanoi's Ultimate Pho
    6. Joyce Carol Oates Goes Home Again
    7. A Closer Look at Evolutionary Faces
    8. Photo Contest Finalist - Wildfires at Myrtle Beach
    9. The Mustang Mystique
    10. The Great British Tea Heist
    1. The Search for the Guggenheim Treasure
    2. Top Ten Reasons to Beware the Ides of March
    3. Photo Contest Finalist - Fun time
    4. A Closer Look at Evolutionary Faces
    5. Photo Contest Finalist - Yang Mai Yong Mountain Under Moonlight
    6. Photo Contest Finalist - Alpine cabin at night
    7. Photo Contest Finalist - Lonely coffee break
    8. Photo Contest Finalist - Wildfires at Myrtle Beach
    9. Photo Contest Finalist - Tree in wheat fields
    10. Photo Contest Finalist - The little house that fought demolition

    - - - Advertisements - - -


    Heritage Month

    Women's History Month

    Explore how powerful women have shaped American history, from our first ladies to our Navy cadets to acclaimed artists and writers.

    Join Us

    Facebook

    Facebook

    Become a fan of Smithsonian magazine's official Facebook page!

    Twitter

    Follow Smithsonian magazine on Twitter

    In The Magazine

    March 2010

    • Wrecking History
    • Our Earliest Ancestors
    • Ultimate Pho
    • Dolley Madison Saves the Day
    • Witness to History

    View Table of Contents »

    Smithsonian magazine presents

    Vote for the 7th Contest People's Choice Award

    Check out the 50 shots our editors named finalists and help pick a winner

    • Smithsonian Store
    • Smithsonian Journeys

    Triple-Strand Bracelet

    Item No. 48258

    Opera Lover's Italy

    Opera and Cuisine in Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Rome (July 15-24, 2010)



    View full archiveRecent Issues


    • Mar 2010

    • February 2010 Issue Cover
      Feb 2010

    • January 2010 Issue Cover
      Jan 2010

    Newsletter

    Sign up for regular email updates from Smithsonian magazine, including free newsletters, special offers and current news updates.

    Subscribe Now

    About Us

    Smithsonian.com expands on Smithsonian magazine's in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, the arts, travel, world culture and technology. Join us regularly as we take a dynamic and interactive approach to exploring modern and historic perspectives on the arts, sciences, nature, world culture and travel, including videos, blogs and a reader forum.

    Explore our Brands

    • goSmithsonian.com
    • Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
    • Smithsonian Institution
    • Smithsonian Catalogue
    • Smithsonian Journeys
    • Smithsonian Channel
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • About Smithsonian
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Reader Panel
    • Subscribe
    • RSS
    • Topics

    Smithsonian Institution

    Produced by Clickability