I, for one, welcome our new overlords.
Posted on 03/28/2015 5:42:51 AM PDT by BenLurkin
BionicANTs borrow not just from the physical characteristics of ants, but the design also incorporates many of the behavioral features of the highly social insects. The insect-inspired devices are slightly over 5 inches long and weigh just over 1 ounce each.
The artificial ants are created on a 3D printer, forming both the basic structure of the device and electrical connections in a single pass. Each artificial ant is equipped with a small video camera, providing a sense of "sight" for the robotic insects. The robotic insects recharge their internal batteries by placing their antennae against a charging station.
Piezo technology is used to drive bending actuators in the devices, which provide the joints within limbs, allowing the device to propel itself along surfaces. This system also uses little electricity, essential for operating time of the robots.
(Excerpt) Read more at techtimes.com ...
I, for one, welcome our new overlords.
Nice post. Thanks.
It sounds like these ants will not be as easy to mash under your thumb as the real ones.
I’m not sure I want improved ants around. The unimproved ones are bad enough.
Imagine how strong ants would be if they were a foot long...
So you're going to print a mini video camera, mechanical and electrical circuitry "in one pass"?
Praytell.
"Don't tread on an ant, he's done nothin' to you
There might come a time when he's treadin' on you"
Great news. Super- sized ants. We’ll need blow torches to get then out of the pantry.
Ping.
I believe that is the first Adam Ant reference in the history of FR.
No, man.
We had a lot of fun with him back when he was drinkin'.
I stand corrected. :)
Hit a bit of a rough patch, didn’t he?
I like looking at pretty butterflies but a wingspan of 20 inches would scare the crap out of me, especially if lots of them flew at me. Might be nice to have some to scare away crows, activated automatically by computers.
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