Flying Robot Delivers Beer To South Africans at Music Festival

A flying robot will be quenching the thirst of revellers at the South African outdoor rock festival, by dropping them beer from a parachute

A flying robot will be quenching the thirst of revellers at the South African outdoor rock festival, by dropping them beer from a parachute.

After clients place an order using a smartphone app, a drone zooms 15 metres (50 feet) above the heads of the festival-goers to make the delivery.

Minirobot for Medical Procedures Inside Human Body
Japanese researchers have developed a prototype miniature robot that can be inserted through an incision and used to perform medical procedures deep inside the body

Carel Hoffmann, director of the Oppikoppi festival held on a dusty farm in the country's northern Limpopo province, said the app registers the position of users using the GPS satellite chips on their phones.

"The delivery guys have a calibrated delivery drone. They send it to the GPS position and drops it with a parachute," he explained.

The drone was built in South Africa and nicknamed "Manna" after the Old Testament-story of bread that fell from the sky to feed the Israelites travelling through the desert following their exodus from Egypt.

Scientists Develop 'Soft Robotic' Technologies Mimicking Biological Systems
A new technique has been developed for creating devices out of a water-based hydrogel material. The material can be patterned, folded and used to manipulate objects.

"It's an almost Biblical thing that beer is dropping from the sky," said Hoffmann.

The beer, free at this stage, is dropped in plastic cups and the drone is performing well.

Researchers Have Developed A Robot That Knows When You Need a Refill
Two Indian researchers have helped develop a robot, which offers a helping hand to humans by anticipating their action. The researchers are from Cornell's Personal Robotics Lab.

"Every time it drops a parachute a crowd of 5,000 cheers," he said.

Source-AFP