Military look to flying insect robots

Reviews a presentation by Professor Robert Michelson of Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA about the growing interest in unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be used for military purposes, but also for tasks like traffic surveillance. Michelson has a particular interest in micro aerial vechiles, and he has a team at Georgia Tech Research Institute developing an insect‐like flapping wing vehicle called an “entomopter”, which is expected to fly in 1998. Michelson has also instituted a series of international aerial robotics competitions, of which the most ambitious it to be held in the millennial year. The competition will simulate search and rescue operations in a disaster situation. The rules are published and qualifying tests will begin in 1998.