Robot spyplanes get new role as medical couriers

[slyfoxflyer66]

looks like a swift 2 haha FPV for the win!

[justfly60482]

slinger would make a better one.

[BRANDORC]

i have a new use for my zagi flying wing

[KileSimons]

That's awesome

[aaJaaxYT]

Well that's just a whole new type of cargo cult now...

[ManicParroT]

Just so people know, the planes are carrying TB and HIV samples, for testing. It is becoming prohibitively expensive to train all the staff at every clinic in testing for TB, so some guys came up with this.

It's super whizzy, I hope they get the funding they need for the rest of it.

[mayphly]

Looks like a MS Composite Swift 2 EPP wing. Great rc plane.

[pfiberoptik]

Cool! Maybe small-time dealers can fly me 4 or 5 doobies of Mexican Chronic at a time across the border.

[bobhatesrainbows]

so can hawks and just about any other bird.

[electrictreaser]

hawks wouldn't follow the routes you want you know :P

[AlphaSigma10]

especially-since-it-escapes-ra­dar-detection

[AlphaSigma10]

let's-hope-terrorists-don't-ge­t-an-idea-here

[Sc0ttPrian]

thats awesome!

[cheesedude9909]

unbelievable!

[nerdelicious5]

LOL at the idea of tiny planes carrying spit! But they're a good idea.

[lunamoon00]

cool

[HeisaPirate]

n helpful at all

[Maracachucho]

Amazing, thats really clever and practical.

[jeffritobandito]

Rata4, I believe I responded to a similar comment before. Duct tape your doors and go hide under your bed.

[KenwoodKlown]

Wow so cool :)

[jnickence]

Yes it's a former spyplane. Yes it's made out of styrofoam. Yes you can buy one at Toys R Us. Because it only runs about an hour is why the military went to better designs. Most remote villages are at least a half days walk to a community center with a clinic. Or an half hour's flight via a styrofoam flying wing. You would have to purposely aim the thing at the ground to crash one hard enough to spill it's contents. I don't see anyone getting infected from samples anytime soon.

[xXLiverpoolFCXx]

that little aircraft is rather impressive though. just throw it in the air and it will fly for miles.

[pchackal]

Cool. Now spyplanes can save people instead of killing them.

[pchackal]

I mean used at the medical field instead of warfare.

[fragoje]

But you can always send contaminated blood!

[Leopoldo888]

hmmm.... or for the delivery of drugs! (across borders?) "give your location in the gps, and I´ll send the stuff to your home"

[wolfdracoconflict]

It was a soundstage on mars

[longz654321]

what if the plane crashes,and the contaminated blood just splashed into healthy people :(

[Avalikia]

What are the odds that a plane that tiny would crash close enough to someone that the blood would come in contact with them, let alone infect them? Assuming that the blood is contaminated of course. (If they knew the blood was infected they wouldn't need to test it, would they?)  And assuming that any measures they've no doubt put into place to keep the containers from breaking failed somehow - the video indicates that the plane actually drops its load on purpose.

[longz654321]

why spend more cost to make this thing??sometimes traditional way is cheaper and in some criteria more efficient even.

[Brand131]

makes you wonder how many shamans they could have hired for the cost of just one of those planes...

[chaplinfan48]

Wat's your point? The planes are cheap little styrofoam jobs, and Shamans might make people feel better for a time with the placebo affect, but not do any real medical good.

[jeffritobandito]

I didn't see any Shamans in the video, only doctors or clinicians. As to why this might be done, if you were dirt poor, lived in a remove village in Africa, your daughter was very sick and the clinician needed to know quickly what was wrong, a little airplane delivering a blood sample and returning with a diagnosis and the medicine she needs might save enough time for a doctor to save her life.

[Rata4You]

Assuming it doesn't contaminate the countryside with EBOLA or SARS. Don't forget those little disease...blood coming out your ears, mouth, eye's, ass...it could save a life, then again, it can cause a major crises.

[jenni560]

Becasue these things are actually very cheap and efficient and solve many problems such as the lack of petrol in remote parts of devoloping countries, hence they can't be taken by road, and the lack of roads for that matter. I think this looks like a very smart idea. And to safely walk from place to place is not always practical, or safe, especially for women.

[burnmyburka]

great video!

[Richona]

Haha! You could set a world spit record - 5 continents!

but i love the little red crosses. good idea.

[LizzyAston]

GO SOUTH AFRICA!

[777ENG777]

that is ace

[tetranoob]

It's a spitfire!

[djindio555]

Interesting use of techknowlegy, but why do they need to re-design something that already exists, are they just trying to impove reliability?

[Rata4You]

Samples of what? Ebola? What if it crashes and some child wants to play with the airplane and finds the blood...wouldn't he get infected? Maybe the saliva samples carry some sort of contagion like SARS.

Nice idea at the start but when you think about it more the dumber it sounds.

[balderdash707]

If there's a sars or ebola infection going around, the likelyhood of getting it from a downed plane carrying blood or saliva samples all but irrelevant. Especially since this is meant to be used in remote areas, if one does crash, it's extremely unlikely that it would be anywhere near humans - even less likely a child who doesn't understand the "WARNING: BIOHAZARD" signs that would be placed on them.

[djindio555]

Ok, but if it's not 'going around' (i.e. a remote location with minimal contact with the outside world) a mishap could actually help it get 'going around'... :-/

[wmacorlando]

My experience says these things only fly for about 15-20 minutes at 30 mph. IF it goes down, quick math says it will be within 8 miles of launch area. These would most likely be used in areas that require a hike through dense forest and the exact location would be known immediately and could be retrieved. That is IF it's not stuck on top of the tree canopy and impossible to retrieve.

The more likely scenario is that an animal could get into the packaging before it could be retrieved.

[Rata4You]

A child that's never gone to school and can't read or write isn't gonna read "WARNING!: Biohazard!!!"

Allow me to translate for you & you tell me if this sounds like an invitation to play with the downed toy or to stay away from it:

चेतावनी !!! आप को मार डालेंगे !!!!

I rest my case.

[balderdash707]

You misread my comment. I said that a child wouldn't understand the warning sign, but also that the chance of some random kid finding the downed plane is so low that it shouldn't be considered a major factor in this situation.

[jeffritobandito]

First off, this plane is made from highly resilient EPP foam, like PC monitors are shipped in. I've flown many EPP planes like this one, and if you flew them into a brick wall they would just bounce off. That's why we make them out of EPP. Secondly, they are radio controlled at both ends and GPS navigated in the middle. They can be landed as gently as you please. Lastly, if all people ever thought about was the worst possible consequences, no progress would ever be made.

[ssnatcherss]

That's awesome! I hope it proves useful for people living in remote areas.

[FerociousBoo]

I guess, Predator spy plane may carry gallons of blood and spit! (Maybe even a few stool samples).

[soaringman]

500 grams? send that across the border with some weed on it

[matieman77]

lol that would work!

[manspider189]

Robotic Owls (Harry Potter) Style mail.

[Phibins]

i love the world!

[linux750]

nice! i wonder how come no one has thought of this before!

[feerof]

because war is a priority haha

[desireddesire]

amazing

[ChemicalMikeUK]

its good to see this technology used for peaceful endeavours rather than used for war.

[smonkeysxoc]

Nice technology :)

[GreenKoldAid]

it brings u condoms O_O

[Redshift21]

In a weird way this reminds me of Star Wars and messenger droids, could this be the genesis of the messenger droid ?

[LordRuin]

Now what are they going to do if something happens and the blood samples ( which could contain who knows what disease ) spills all over a populated area?

[swyft187]

That would be considered biological warfare!

[Pacober1]

the blood samples were enough to fit in a test tube as you can see at :50, unless im mistaken, i dont think they are much of a danger in that way.

[jeffritobandito]

Does the area they are using it in look very populated? I think the whole reason for using it is because these areas are remote. Makes sense, doesn't it? Why not rather think of what might happen if this device helps someone live because their condition is diagnosed and medicine quickly sent? You might be surprised at how reliable electric planes, radio control and GPS really are.

[DrakeMagnum]

This is uplifting.

[Rikotistic]

That's a good step towards turning swords into plowshares. I never thought of that use for small planes. I use mine to harass sparrows and neighbors.

[retro93292]

bio-terrorism is near

[jeffritobandito]

Oh yes, be scared. Be as scared as you can possibly be by the little white plane.

There are a million other ways bio-terrorism could be done. Best duct tape your windows and doors & hide under your bed.

[VisionQuest2012]

This is a drug smugglers dream. Set it and forget it.

[AmazingGodfrey]

i think fedex and ups should look into this! haha

[vigneshbaliga]

Wow!, that is a great idea! ..and for such a great purpose.

[Treha1da]

My thoughts exactly

[Jmcenanly]

Reinventing the carrier pigeon. It can carry a lot more and is less susceptible to predators, and will not stop for statues.

[Idler81643]

But do they have missiles to protect the blood samples from vampires?

[petfoodonly]

How exactly are these 'spy' planes. So dumb!

Other than the title, really good vid :)

[N256]

They are modified spy planes, they used to hold a camera.

[petfoodonly]

lies, they're clearly custom built. No spy-plane would be made from a small bit of white Styrofoam :p

[aurora2k]

WOW possibly the best idea ever

[soulhunger1]

Now that's a breakthrough. Awesome idea.

[rubikssolver08]

awesome

[encore518]

how bout making it blend in with the sky as i can predict people will want to shoot those things down just to be assholes.

[ecyor0]

Only really a problem when they're taking off/landing - once they're up at cruising altitude they'll just be too high and too small to hit.

Not that it'll stop them from trying, I'll wager...

[encore518]

good point

[uberturt]

only people in the U.S. would be such assholes.

[jeffritobandito]

While there are lots of ignorant assholes in the U.S., there are nearly as many that aren't. Unfortunately not enough to tip the balance in 2000 or 2004, and we're biting our nails in 2008.

[singlespies]

Brilliant! It is nice to get a feel-good science story!

[DryWhater]

thats petty cool imagine that with every day mail but they didnt say how far they can go

[xxwzaebd]

The time when UAVs will be available to everyone just like handphones and dicas has come near.

[Exoskull969]

couldnt u just scale it up a bit so i can carry more weight or do u just suck at math / physics

[gromann]

Not bad but the tech is kindof old and the fact this hasnt been done before is the idiotic part... now the need to scale it up and get a plane with more power i.e. Predator

[wmacorlando]

yeah, because a rural tribal member would know exactly how to launch a large, powerful plane in a small area with a lot of obstacles near the launch site.

[gromann]

rural tribal members dont touch those planes either, if you werent listening... they drop the cargo without landing and return to base

[wmacorlando]

I think the point is for technicians to take samples in remote areas, attach them to the plane, launch it, let it fly to a centralized lab, drop the cargo, and return to technician in the field. Rinse and repeat.

The technician would need help launching the plane if it were much bigger than the one in the video.

[gromann]

Possibly, but there are larger aircraft, most R/C planes are operated by one person, and many of them have wingspans over 2 meters

[wmacorlando]

Yeah, I fly them and they get progressively more difficult to launch as they increase in size.

[kentafication]

Laying off all the hardworking pigeons.

[feuchster]

oh v nice

[Salladsdressing]

Great idea! This will save a lot of life's!

[DaZeD871]

That's actually a pretty awesome idea! :)

[bcreason]

I wonder if there maybe other uses as well.

Mail delivery, distributing medicines, small parts for equipment, Egg & sperm samples for agriculture or endangered species.

There must uses for research and environmental studies. A remote researcher could put gigabytes of data in a tiny memory card and send it back to base along with any samples collected. It would be much cheaper than a satellite link.

[ALAPAT1]

Wow. Bout time newscience vids didn't have a sucky vid, cause the last one was awefull.

[lippskids]

that is so cool i wunt to be fighter pilot so it reely cool to see progress

[MasterClipEditor]

This is good, but it's going to be used for a lot of bad stuff.

[Tigerpoi51]

Yes .. these planes could be modified to drop things like the plague or ebola virus on rural uppity tribal villages. We must begin work immediately.

[dustynbones]

Damn uppity heathens and savages, they never learn.

[GetMeThere1]

This is actually a VERY cool idea! One good thing is that it can help keep extreme rural areas (in the developing world) as rural.

i.e., we can slow down the relentless PAVING of the entire freakin' world!

[ccaptorchen]

never know what technology will lead to the next breakthrough.

[noinlair]

I love technology!

:-)

[JohnDeBunkTest]

Bringing medical care to remote areas using modern technology!

A much better use of this plane than spying for military purpose.

(and to worry about the 'cargo' being a problem, remember that car accidents show that any transportation of bio hazardous material is a risk, but one that needs taken. This method will be safer as it does not involve people handling the material en-route. Persons finding a crashed unit are quite unlikely to open the cargo and infect themselves).

[Redshift21]

Modern homing pigeon.

[MiniMaxis468]

lol

sorry i just had to laugh at that

[Redshift21]

Thank you  ^_^

[bcreason]

That's the first thing I thought when I saw the video. "Carrier Pigeon"

[Redshift21]

It's funny how we just end up reinventing the wheel sometimes.

[peluso4oso]

That is so cool!

Finally, something that is going to help people instead of hurting people.

[Qrbbl]

if these were used in wars it wouldn't be hard to see a remote control plane flying around your fucking head ..

but at least you can use it for transferring blood about half a meter until the batteries die out

[bcreason]

Remote Control hobby planes have little engines that run on alcohol. If they want to scale up the distance they just need to buy one of those off the shelf. They're pretty cheap.

[TrueBlueAustralian]

Wouldn't it be called a UAV

[palle179]

Cool!

[turxxx]

What if one gets lost while carrying contaminated blood and spit?

I suppose they won't use it if something serious is suspected.

[TrueBlueAustralian]

Good point

[puretroubleman]

They will probably have GPS built in and will be detected if lost or stationary.

[superfisto]

Airborne ebola!