---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 00:16:51 -0400 From: Salvatore Denaro <sal@panix.com> Subject: ** INNOVATIONS: SPYING SAUCER ** -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 ** INNOVATIONS: SPYING SAUCER ** Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Conn., has designed and built a small, round rotary-wing pilotless aircraft that can locate and follow objects, flying down urban streets or peeping into windows. The Cypher is propelled by two rigid motors, one above the other, that revolve in opposite directions. The outside shell of the aircraft is rounded, like a donut, giving the machine some protection when it bumps into tree branches, or the sides of buildings. It can stay aloft for about two and a half hours, using advanced software made by Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman to find and trail enemy soldiers, or scout out an urban setting for potential sharpshooters. A video camera mounted on the aircraft can peer through windows when engineers on the ground signal the Cypher to land on a nearby rooftop. "The beauty of Cypher," says the aircraft's project leader, "is that it can fly low and slow." (Scientific American Jun 97) <http://www.sciam.com> - -- Salvatore Denaro sal@panix.com -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQA/AwUBM7nWM+TFOuwodGh3EQJG7gCg8nwH59/PW8qxqn+1QGCeShrVWYIAn3ff xYOK8t8+DBU8rlve6UX6+IiE =vFbW -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----