Developers from the University of Pennsylvania has created several modular drones, able to gather in a variety of shapes. To do this they are capable of in flight, self-forming complex structures.
Demonstration video posted by the creators of the Internet clearly shows this feature of drones. First they hang in the air next to each other, and then slowly move closer, clinging to one another with magnets placed in the corners of the structure each of them. In the video design of the four apparatus calmly lifts the glass, holding it between frames.
The development is called ModQuad, and now she is in the early stages of development and testing. The creators believe that their invention will be able to save the engineers from creating a complex and expensive aircraft designed to perform specific tasks. Modularity can significantly expand the scope of application of drones in flight allowing the apparatus to add a couple new features.
For example, from a similar but larger drones can be directly “on the fly” to build a bridge, an Elevator, or a temporary support frame. Simultaneously, the drones will be able to deliver the required in a particular situation cargo.
A swarm of drones, created by developers from the University of Pennsylvania, is far from perfect, but in the future, — assured the developers — like swarms of aircraft will be commonplace.
A swarm of little drones in flight going into one big
Vyacheslav Larionov