Aphelion

Here is some tech that might show up in Nightwatch or other techspionage stories:

Smartbird: developed (apparently) purely as an engineering exercise

Smartbird outdoors -- real seagulls attack it!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technol ... o-ted.html

Smartbird indoors at TED conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg_JcKSH ... r_embedded

The nano hummingbird, on the other hand, was developed for DARPA as a surveillance device prototype:

http://www.avinc.com/nano

Both seem to be operated like regular radio-controlled aircraft, but presumably we could have 'smart' versions in the future that could seek out particular locations or targets using onboard CPUs.

It's cool to see miniature versions of the ornithopters Frank Herbert describes (without much detail about their appearance or functionality) in "Dune".

RM

It's been a few years since I looked at ornithopters -- I built a beginner model from a kit -- but the improvements are really impressive. The jointed wing makes a huge difference; looks very natural. Thanks, Robert.