Pretty cool "smart dust"
FlyFire Project at MIT
Full Version: Attack of the Flocking LED's!
reminds me of the computer displays on the new enterprise from the movie
hmmm... that's just the simulation , right? It didn't look like they had a real swarm there.
QUOTE(robcat2075 @ Feb 25 2010, 04:39 PM) 
hmmm... that's just the simulation , right? It didn't look like they had a real swarm there.
I couldn't tell - I wondered the same thing - but I believe it was the real thing?
here's a link to a bit more info
Digitally controlled micro helicopters forming displays - truely immersive 3D - able to gobble you up if need be.
Not very practical due to the limited charge such a small helicopter could hold. IMHO
In the pdf paper link above - it says:
I think this is about terrorizing the audience by having zillions of little bitsy choppers surround them and then go out of control
That's seems pretty practical to me for entertainment value. (heh heh)
I could see the military using this to confuse the enemy as well. My guess is that the technology started with a military research contract, and is now being let loose into the commercial arena.
QUOTE
Flyfire is made possible by recent advances in battery technology and wireless control. It aims
to be a step towards 'smart dust' -- the idea that computing is becoming increasingly smaller,
addressable, pervasive - and persuasive.
to be a step towards 'smart dust' -- the idea that computing is becoming increasingly smaller,
addressable, pervasive - and persuasive.
I think this is about terrorizing the audience by having zillions of little bitsy choppers surround them and then go out of control
That's seems pretty practical to me for entertainment value. (heh heh)I could see the military using this to confuse the enemy as well. My guess is that the technology started with a military research contract, and is now being let loose into the commercial arena.
So that's how the machines take over...
i still think what we saw was CG. We would have seen a helicopter blade blink out a light at least once wouldn't we?
I think they're fooling us.
I think they're fooling us.
>I could see the military using this to confuse the enemy as well.
<or sting them with poison or minibombs.
<or sting them with poison or minibombs.
QUOTE(robcat2075 @ Feb 25 2010, 11:26 PM)
i still think what we saw was CG. We would have seen a helicopter blade blink out a light at least once wouldn't we?
I think they're fooling us.
I think they're fooling us.
Perhaps only fooling me...we have to read the fine print...I believe this is the current state of the ARES Lab (Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Lab) research on the Flyfire project (taken from the pdf):
QUOTE
Using the self-stabilizing and precise controlling technology developed by the ARES Lab, the
motion of the pixels is adaptable in real time. The Flyfire canvas can transform itself from one
shape to another or bring a two-dimensional photographic image into an articulated shape.
"Today we are able to simultaneously control a handful of micro helicopters, but with Flyfire we
are aiming to scale up and reach very large numbers," said Emilio Frazzoli, head of the ARES
Lab.
“Flyfire opens up exciting possibilities: as on a conventional screen, pixels can change color, but
now they can also move, creating a transient trace of light in three-dimensional space," said
team member Carnaven Chiu. "Unlike traditional displays that can only be seen from the front,
Flyfire becomes a three dimensional immersive display that can be experienced from all
directions."
Flyfire is conceived as a public space installation, in which the pixels recharge every few
minutes and then perform in space. "In general, there are two ways to increase the resolution of
a display," said Carlo Ratti, director of the SENSEable City Lab. "One is to use smaller pixels.
The other one is to look at it from farther away. Flyfire adopts the second approach to create a
unique visual experience in large public spaces.â€
motion of the pixels is adaptable in real time. The Flyfire canvas can transform itself from one
shape to another or bring a two-dimensional photographic image into an articulated shape.
"Today we are able to simultaneously control a handful of micro helicopters, but with Flyfire we
are aiming to scale up and reach very large numbers," said Emilio Frazzoli, head of the ARES
Lab.
“Flyfire opens up exciting possibilities: as on a conventional screen, pixels can change color, but
now they can also move, creating a transient trace of light in three-dimensional space," said
team member Carnaven Chiu. "Unlike traditional displays that can only be seen from the front,
Flyfire becomes a three dimensional immersive display that can be experienced from all
directions."
Flyfire is conceived as a public space installation, in which the pixels recharge every few
minutes and then perform in space. "In general, there are two ways to increase the resolution of
a display," said Carlo Ratti, director of the SENSEable City Lab. "One is to use smaller pixels.
The other one is to look at it from farther away. Flyfire adopts the second approach to create a
unique visual experience in large public spaces.â€
When I look further at the products, projects of the ARES group - they are indeed deeply in bed with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) - the same folks who brung ya the Intertubes. It's the SENSEable Citys Lab (also at MIT) - that's trying/conceptualizing to take the durty technology and make it purty technology. I think.
I believe it could happen on some scale, in some future, in some morphology - Flying Nanobots rule!
I can foresee battlefield uses where these are used to confuse and entertain the enemy.
QUOTE(Gerry @ Feb 26 2010, 09:55 AM)
I can foresee battlefield uses where these are used to confuse and entertain the enemy.
Better than the gay bomb they were working on.
Gay bombs? that is just so crazy on so many levels if it had been seriously considered... and if that report was true...
besides...I thought aerosoled rhino horn and tiger weenies had been outlawed long ago...endangered species and all that...
besides...I thought aerosoled rhino horn and tiger weenies had been outlawed long ago...endangered species and all that...
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