[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/RobotBirds.flv[/flv]
About This Webisode
ROBOT BIRDS - PART 2
Flying in the Micro Aviary
Mixing Hollywood wizardry and video game technology, engineers at Wright Patterson Air Force Research Lab are teaching computers to fly tiny aircraft.
After being strategically outfitted with white markers, the aircraft are flown in an infra-red “micro aviary.” There, dozens of special cameras use motion capture to track each flight, just like the movements of an athlete are tracked when creating a sports video game.
The goal is to design sophisticated micro air vehicles with capabilities far beyond the toys used in these experiments. “It's a very exciting time to be a scientist,” says Aeronautical Engineer Ryan Carr.
