Newsgroups: comp.robotics
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From: ad302@freenet.buffalo.edu (Elizabeth M. Phillips)
Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: A robotic Butterlfy!
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Organization: State University of New York At Buffalo, NY (USA)
References: <CtpqFx.2uo@news.cis.umn.edu> <1994Jul28.153808.22030@msuvx2.memphis.edu>
Date: Sat, 30 Jul 1994 00:14:29 GMT
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In a previous article, horton@molbio.cbs.umn.edu (Robert Horton) says:

>Mark C. Langston (umlangston@cc.memphis.edu) wrote:
>
>Several problems:
>1) batterys are way heavy - do they even make battery powered toy
>airplanes? The ones I've seen are either rubber band or gas powered.
>(How about solar cells? Then it would have a reason to seek light.)

	Yes they do as a matter of fact I've been flying one for 7 years.
They work fine nicads are the prefer power source.  I suspect a single
AAA battery would be a hard source for power because of the low voltage
using muscle wires (IE nothing can control it at said voltage)

>2) Flapping wings are (I guess) a fairly complicated way to
>fly. There is a toy bird that flys by flapping its wings, though...
>(rubber band powered). 

	Yep ornathopter.  Paul Macreedy (SP) made ye olde dino toy.

>Still, if you build one, I'd love to see it! Its a neat idea.

	The bigest problem is a light enough power source with a high
enough electromotive force to run a control system [even SIMPLE] a basic
controller needs AT LEAST 3 volts.  Sure 2 you can get away with but 
very few semi conductors work well at the voltage for bias :)
-- 
