US Army Looking to 3D-Print Minidrones in 24 Hours
A poster describes how 3D printing might help soldiers quickly obtain drones customized for their mission.
By Patrick Tucker Read bio
January 10, 2017
Future soldiers will make their own eyes-in-the-sky on the go.
Imagine a squad of Army Rangers prepping to capture a high-value subject barricaded inside a three-story building. The Rangers decide send in a small camera drone to check for IEDs — but there’s a problem: the enemy has begun putting its booby-traps on the ceiling, where the downward-facing drones can’t see them. If only those little gizmos had cameras on the top…?
A new project by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Georgia Technical Institute just might help. It aims to give soldiers the ability to 3D-print swarms of mini-drones to specific specifications within 24 hours. Its creators call this approach “aggregate derivative approach to product design,” or ADAPT.
http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2017/01/us-army-looking-3d-print-minidrones-24-hours/134494/?oref=d-river
