Art, bots, design, disney, dragonfly, insects, james, james watts, robots...

Solar Dragonfly Flaps Wings Feebly, Makes Us Sad

James Watts spends his time putting together fantastic insect-bot sculptures, and the Solar Dragonfly is one of the best. The solar panels running down the body actually power the wings, which are then kicked into motion using a pager motor. Sure, it looks swell, but we can't help but think the Solar Dragonfly would lose its balance whilst flapping its wings feebly, all the while wishing it was a real dragonfly. How would Disney have tackled that one? A solar powered dragonfly that wants to be a real insect—now there's a cartoon we want to see. Pixar, hop to it. Hit the link for some more great shots. [Clockwork Robot via Make]

11:59 PM on Sun Feb 24 2008
By Haroon Malik
4,436 views
8 comments

Comments

Mandatory_Field at 12:12 AM on 02/25/08
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But will it pass the Hawk/bird of prey test?
scarbrtj at 12:58 AM on 02/25/08
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Perhaps the hypothesized Disney movie could be a "The Rescuers" prequel, with the part of "solar-powered dragonfly" being played by Evinrude (voiced by James MacDonald).
daversW at 01:35 AM on 02/25/08
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so, does it actually fly? that would be impressive, but i somehow get the feeling it doesnt
bdesign at 01:37 AM on 02/25/08
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All these remote controlled and robotic dragonflies remind me of a short story I read in a middle school english class...maybe 6th grade, in 1990 or so. The dragonfly was a robot/flying camera controlled by a boy. I don't remember anything else about it, does anyone know what I'm talking about?
sophiausa at 02:49 AM on 02/25/08
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Awesome find. The Solar Dragonfly is an awesome example of what the power of a dream and a human mind can create. James Watt is a really amazing inventor. Check out more of this incredibly beautiful joining of science and nature.
soggy_cheerio at 04:17 AM on 02/25/08
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@sophiausa: I'd hate to see how violated your computer is.

1 in 9 of the prominent links on the site you linked to was a trojan delivery system. The rest was crap.

Note to self: Avoid managedQ, and revert to snapshot.
shadaik at 04:33 AM on 02/25/08
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Now I'm confused. James Watt (inventor of the steam engine), James Watts (inventor of our robot dragonfly master race of the future) - if I name my son any of these is he to become one of the greatest inventors in history automatically? Or is this guy just the same, now being about 250 years old?
eaglei20200 at 12:18 PM on 02/25/08
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The story is "The Artist of the Beautiful," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the proto-steampunk story of a craftsman who creates a flying mechanical dragonfly, only to have it--wait for it!--destroyed (okay, I forget how--think it might have been a kid). Ah, the futility of art and of trying to capture true beauty!