DARPA is probably the only department within the military I'd be interested in working for. Their latest creation is a robotic hummingbird done that spies better than Cheaters. Mastering flight with such precious is incredibly difficult which is why the prototype isn't as nimble as the real thing but all in due time. Pretty soon that pretty little bird fluttering outside your window may be more than meets the eye.
Penguins are survival artists that brave the icy Antarctic storms to rear their young on land, where they move rather staidly and at times even somewhat clumsily. They feed mainly on small shrimp-like creatures - krill - which they hunt in the depths of the ocean. The penguins' swimming and diving behaviour has been studied in Antarctica for many years. Using state-of-the-art methods, researchers have succeeded in revealing the secrets of the underwater "flight" of this unusual order of birds.
More after the jump
I'm a big fan of biologist Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, an organization that helps companies and people examine how design and production could follow the time-tested formulas nature has already adapted. In a big win for the guild is news of HOK, one of the world's largest architectural firms, joining forces to become the premier bio-inspired innovation company.
We're talking buildings with paint inspired by plants - wonder why leaves never seem to get dirty? It's because the surface is textured in a way that prevents dirt from sticking. We're talking windows that change density to optimize heat. How about pipes inspired from seashells? They're made of the same calcium deposits clogging copper pipes yet they somehow control it. And all of this built from a revolutionary way of production - from the bottom up, molecule by molecule so there's no excess.
The future is now, for real!