Unmanned reconnaissance is all the rage these days, if you happen to be paranoid ex-military or on the extreme side of Facebook stalking. Regardless of the source of your psychosis, you’d probably get your hardware from Cyber Technology, a Western Australia-based company that manufacturers the cyberQuad MINI UAV shown above.
The little guy comes in at 420mm x 420mm x 200mm WDH, and has a top speed of 15 knots, or 27km/h. The default loadout is a VGA resolution camera, but you can replace this with a camera capable of 5MP stills and 1080p video capture.
Of course, if your needs are more extensive, you can go for the cyberQuad MAXI, which is bigger at 690mm x 560mm x 200mm WDH. The upgrade gets you a sizzling 20 knots (37km/h) of speed and the option to add a 14MP still camera.
Sadly, these devices weren’t designed for overnight jaunts — the MINI can hover for 12-20 minutes, while the MAXI last a little longer at 15-25 minutes.
What is nifty about the cyberQuads is that some of their parts are built using a 3D printer. This wasn’t always the case — previously the company had to rely on traditional materials and construction techniques to get things done. Now, with the help of a material called “DuraForm”, Cyber Technology can save time and money building what they need using 3D printers.
The technology has come a fair way, and if we’re able to partially build UAVs with it, it won’t be long before 3D printing isn’t limited to making prototypes.
More pictures of this floating wonder can are below, including its suitcase friendliness.
[Cyber Technology via Shapeways]