7/9/2003: GoldenEye, a remarkable aircraft
 

http://cellar.org/2003/goldeneye.jpg

As seen here:

Apparently DARPA asked custom aircraft company Aurora for an unmanned aerial vehicle that was quiet, small, could fly for several hours on autopilot, and could deliver two cylinders the size of Coke cans to a distant location. This will be tested soon: it's called "GoldenEye".

It takes off vertically, uses computers to right itself, then flies at 160 knots for up to 4 hours. It navigates to any location by itself. From 150 meters it's as quiet as a conversation.

What DARPA has in mind to do with it is left as an exercise to the vivid imagination.

(via Rantburg)

DARPA won't do anything with it. All they do is solicit technology demos. And pay handsomely for it, I might add. Then it's up to the military to find uses for this technology and solicit bids on the development of weapons or tools using this technology. Usually in combination with other new ideas. I notice on the DARPA website they're soliciting a lot of software/hardware solutions to harsh evironment survival. Can you say, battlefield.

But I want one.:D

But eventually these things reach down to us, the little people, when they get consumerized.

"Hi, China Inn, may I help you?"

"I'd like a number 7, and an egg roll."

"OK, what is your location?"

"45 West Pine."

"No, latitude longitude."

"What?"

"Never mind, your phone sent it. Your order will be in the back yard in 90 seconds."

UT, your example is disturbingly reminiscent of ninjaburger! :cool:

"GoldenEye will pay for itself after a few loads of smuggled Coke. Heroin is also quite lucrative."

-- from future adverts, if available to the public

I don't think the Gumint is going to relinquish airspace than easily.
Unmanned drones flying willy nilly over houses? Mothers Against Unmanned Drones will have something to say like a million MAUD March on Washington. Plus we have a homeland security issue with every Tom, Dick and Osama flying things about. Not for a very loooooog time.;)

They can have my GoldenEye when they pry the controller out of my cold dead hands. The great thing about the example is that you can order that food from Chinatown NYC... even if you're in West Virginia... and get the order in less than four hours. (Or, I suppose, it's free. Which would be a great deal since the cost of the order would be into the tens of thousands of dollars.)

This would be a great courier. It could send secret communications, love trinkets, lost keys, and biological weapons.

I know a guy who has a somewhat twisted sense of humor (yeah, I know that doesn't narrow it down much, most of the guys I know have somewhat bent humor glands) wants to paint up an RC aircraft with *insert city of choice* Police Dept logos, install a camera in it, and fly the thing around some unsavory neighborhood, just to see how long it takes before someone tries to shoot it out of the sky ... AND to see if any furor is generated as a consequence of the apparent use of "spy planes" to observe crack deals.

Oh, and about the Chinese delivery thing ... does anyone know the secret? Even if you live 1/2 hour away from the restaurant, how the hell does the food stay unable to touch the foil container piping hot when it makes it to your door?

The design reminds me of some little fireworks that are often sold around the 4th or at New Years.

I imagine the fins make it spin like a bullet going down a riffled barrel of a gun.

I think it is obvious that they just want to be able to deliver a couple of cold ones to the general. Might have been a little too obvious if they said it had to be able to deliver a brace of long necks.

MSG and grease. Gets very hot and cools slowly.

Hrm... you could carry a lot in two coke-can sized packages... smoke bombs, nerve gas, condoms, grenades, 2-3 tight rolls of duct tape, biochem mixtures, party favors, tootsie rolls, two different flavors of ice cream...

waitaminnit... I'm thinking of birthday parties...

My guess for fun: a sensor/mic/camera that sends its signal to satellites, can color-change to fit in with surroundings, and can slowly "walk" to get into an ideal location or to hide or both.

Voyeurs rejoice!!:D