Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4
Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geqip_0Vjec
Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-dkonAXOlQ
That said, they are a little freaky. Can you imagine those things weaponized?
This gets a lot wilder in a hurry.
While conventional formations like this are relatively easy to imagine, the goal of this is what is called “swarm technology”, which covers a heck of a lot of concepts.
1) Imagine hundreds of such devices flying in concert, yet avoiding collisions with each other and objects. They have a very complex formation, like a swarm of bees.
2) As a group they have one or more missions to accomplish, say with each of them carrying a small amount of high explosives, with each of dozens of targets getting a maximum of three collision explosions.
3) For a harder target, say an armored door or lid, 2 or three dozen may land and stick to it while others land. Then they detonate simultaneously.
4) Once outside of radio control, say in a cave or building, they become autonomous, with a seek out and destroy mission.
A lot of potential, here.
Very impressive.
Imagine a flight of unmanned attack helicopters!
Theories as to how this is done?
Note the very bright lights on the video. Most digital cameras are sensitive to IR light, and those emitters are there for a reason. While the quadrotors obviously have an IMU onboard, low-cost IMUs have so much drift they could not hold precision for more than a few seconds, and there is no precision GPS inside buildings like this. My guess is the craft are all controlled within a virtual reality space that is created by video cameras lining the walls. In other words, a very cool demo but not something you can scale up to work outdoors, etc, without bringing in a new form of spacial location technology.
Perfect for biowarfare agent dispersal, especially to target small groups.