great next they’ll learn to think on their own and then they will try to be our robotic overlords… other then that its cool :)

Adds a whole new element to the swarm concept. It will be interesting to see the commercial, military, and research applications this provides. NASA is working on something similar for their solar plane project. Don’t know if they’ve tried out the mid air docking bit just yet.

@salec I think its probably a matter of control/stability. With only one unit, the torque reaction of the prop would cause uncontrollable spinning. Two units would solve that problem, but it would only have direction control of the X and Z axis. Three units would theoretically work, but four would make the math simpler.

@crgwbr

The torque component is negated out on coaxial helicopters all the time by using counter rotating blades. This also allows for rotation by simply slowing down one of the props to allow the torque to become a non-zero value. That still doesn’t solve lateral movement control along the X-Y axis though.

I’m amused that the handler only cared about protecting his right hand.

I would like to see a dozen or so of these things to join and create a huge hovering platform, think sky captain and the world of tomorrow. http://www.rotaryaction.com/images/skycapwot.jpg

So it has a bunch of problems, but they all seem like things a bunch of money could fix. I’m thinking defense.

I don’t know, but right away I thought this could have some big military purposes. It could be a fast way to distribute ad-hoc network nodes. Or, a single unit initially with multiple capabilities could later separate and then more efficiently allocate its assets… Sortof a distributable multi-role aircraft.

I don’t know, maybe I’ve just watched too much sci-fi.

Hey guys let’s pick the shortest guy on the team to be the one to have to reach up and grab it.

how s this even a hack where can i find details on how to make this?
i cant find any plans