The Manhacks Are Cooperating

Last month we wrote about the engineers of the GRASP Lab at UPenn who built a quadrotor helicopter that looked like the manhacks in Half-Life 2.  Not content with making me drop bricks once, they’ve gone and given them claws and taught these unmanned aerial nightmare machines how to cooperate with each other to lift things (video below).  Um, thanks guys?  Each of these is capable of “precise aggressive maneuvers“, so why not give them freaking claws and teach them to team up and use those fancy new claws in tandem with each other.

Okay, yeah, it’s awesome that unmanned aerial vehicles are working together and four of them can grasp and lift a 1.2 kg (2.64 lb) board, but could you warn me before you give the manhacks claws?  I need to brace myself and throw a tarp down on my chair first.  The neighbors are starting to get suspicious about how often I hose off my office chair in the backyard.  You’re not helping.

[Engadget]