Robotic helicopters capable of ferrying 3.5 tons of cargo in a single load are at work supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan, according to a defense technology blog.

The helicopter is a Lockheed Martin / Kaman Aerospace K-Max designed for battlefield cargo resupply. Confirmation of its use in Afghanistan means "we're now in the age of unmanned logistics," Paul Mcleary writes for Aviation Week's Ares blog. 

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The technology will put fewer soldiers at risk flying over enemy lines on re-supply missions. That doesn't mean, however, that the military will put the helicopters directly in harm's way. 

"Most of the missions will be conducted at night and at higher altitudes," Marine Capt. Caleb Joiner, mission commander, said in a news release. "This will allow us to keep out of small arms range."

While the helicopter should save lives on the battlefield, how might robotic choppers and other supply vehicles translate to civilian life? Feel free to share your wishes in the comments section below.

More on military robots:

• Military faces overload from robot swarms
• Dog vs. robot: Which is the better soldier?
• Military developing robot-insect cyborg
• Scientists debate a robot war
• Future of war: Private robot armies fight it out

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

 

 

Robotic quadrocopters — that is flying machines with four rotors — have built a 20-foot-tall tower of polystyrene blocks at a museum in France.

This may come as bad news for unemployed construction workers hoping for a bright future building next-generation skyscrapers, but it's yet another way robots are aiming to re-shape the global workforce.

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In this case, an architect still draws up a blueprint for the building, but computers and robots do the rest — interpreting the blueprint and controlling the crew of robotic copters, for example. 

The first public job for this system was the "Flight Assembled Architecture" exhibit at the FRAC Center Orleans, billed as the "first installation to be built by flying machines."

The exhibit is the work of ETH Zurich roboticist Rafaello D'Andrea and architects Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler.

Like any construction site, a safe operating environment is essential. To avoid collisions, the robots reserve air space on one of two "freeways" before they fly. 

"The system ensures that while a space is reserved, only the reserved flying vehicle has access — all other vehicles must wait before flying through the space," the team explains in a media release.

This system also prevents collisions with the tower, since the tower itself is considered reserved airspace.

Each robot has a specially designed gripper to hold and place the bricks. The researchers also figured that quick flights are essential to prevent factors such as air turbulence resulting in a misplaced brick.

Perhaps the speed will also cut down on construction delays, giving the robotic workforce another edge over their human counterparts.

The tower on exhibit is 20 feet tall and made of 1,500 blocks. It's a model of a futuristic 2,000-foot tall "vertical village" that could house 30,000 people — assuming 30,000 people want to live in a building assembled by robots.

[Via CNET]

More on the robotic workforce of the future:

• More work for robots in China
• Nine jobs that humans may lose to robots
• In the near future, robots will work on farms
• Your new co-worker may be a robot
• Meet FRIDA, your robot co-worker

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

 

 

 

A group of German tinkerers have successfully completed what it claims is the world's first manned flight with an electric-powered "multi-copter" — a contraption that resembles a helicopter but with 16 rotors.

The one-minute-and-30-second flight was proof of concept for the machine that could one day find use for tasks such as inspecting wind turbines and pipelines or taking aerial photographs — in addition to giving aviation geeks a good time.

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Though most similar to a helicopter, the team says the E-volo is superior due to the "simplicity of its engineered construction without complicated mechanics, and its redundant engines."

Should something go wrong, it can land even if four of its 16 rotors fail, for example. And since there is no propeller above the pilot, a safety parachute could also be deployed.

Sans pilot, the machine weighs 176 pounds (80 kilograms), light enough to be classified as an ultralight. 

What makes it different from other helicopter-like flying machines with multiple rotors is the electric power source — lithium-ion batteries. In its current configuration, there's enough juice for 20 minutes of flight.

We've recently seen other electric flying machines, such as the electric-powered plane that took flight this summer at EAA AirVenture show in Wisconsin. And students at the University of Maryland are working on a human-powered helicopter.

Compared to flying a plane, the E-volo is simple to operate — it is controlled with a joystick — potentially opening up this aviation thrill to the masses.

Future designs could include multi-seat machines that zip along quickly enough to replace the helicopters we see flying around today.

More on flying contraptions:

• Human powered helicopter rises
• Flying car cleared for the road
• 'Flying Humvee' moves ahead
• 7 flights of fancy that fizzled
• Dude, where's my flying car and jetpack?
• An electric plane you can (almost) buy

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John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

 

 

A spherical flying machine that can take off and land just about anywhere, roll along walls and hover like a helicopter was recently unveiled by Japan's Ministry of Defense. 

The beach-ball-size machine consists of commercially available parts that cost about U.S. $1,400. The researchers built it to study a problem associated with their aircraft R&D, as explained in the video above from DigInfo. 

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"We have a plane that can stand up vertically after flying horizontally. But the problem with that plane is take-off and landing are very difficult," the researcher explains. "As one idea to solve that problem, we thought of making the exterior round."

Since the flying ball works like a propeller plane, it can fly forward at high speed using wings, which a helicopter can't do, DigInfo notes. And three gyro sensors keeps it moving along even after bumping into an obstacle.

Ultimately, an aircraft developed with this technology could be used for search-and-rescue missions in otherwise hard-to-reach places. For more information, check out the video above. 

More on defense robots:

• Robots hook up to fly as a single unit
• Man flies with jet pack at the London boat show
• Robotic insects take flight on wings made using printers
• Dude, where's my flying car and jetpack?

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.