Microdrones' flying robot films African wildlife, finds peace with nature

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/03/microdrones-flying-robot-films-african-wildlife-finds-peace-wi/

Sit back, relax and grab a cold one, because you're about to take an aerial tour of the Serengeti, courtesy of that flying drone you're staring at. Developed by Microdrones, this MD4-100 quadrotor was recently sent off to Kenya, where it gathered footage for a TV nature documentary produced by TBS Japan. By hovering over the terrain, the craft was able to get relatively up close and personal with zebras, elephants and other wildlife, without creating the same kind of disturbance that heavy duty, camera-laden trucks can wreak. Presumably, that's because the animals have no idea what to make of a flying robot, though part of us wants to believe there's some sort of full-circle, techno-evolutionary dynamic at work here, momentously bringing bot and beast together in some sort of pre-apocalyptic symbiosis. But that's just us. Hover past the break to see the video for yourself.

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Microdrones' flying robot films African wildlife, finds peace with nature originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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