Robot throws itself off buildings
(CBS) - The dramatic music of this video would have you believe that something magical is about to happen, like a super hero is about to swoop in and rescue a damsel in distress or an entity of some sort is about to be revealed.
But instead, a base-jumping robot merely throws itself off a building. It looks kind of shaky, but it's actually pretty cool.
You see, there's something magnificent about the Paraswift, the collaboration between Disney Research and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Although it was built for entertainment purposes, the first compact robot can climb, fly and can be instrumental in gathering aerial footage for 3D modeling systems (like Google Street View), says NewScientist.
Paul Beardsley presented the Paraswift at the Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines in Paris. The coolest part about this robot is that its wheels are the only things that need to touch the wall. That's not easy for just any robot to do.
Oh now we get what all the build-up music was about!
