A quadcopter outfitted with an on-board 3D printer could be used to seal off and transport nuclear waste, or even to build structures in the middle of nowhere, according to its inventor, Mirko Kovac of University College, London. “In effect, it’s the world’s first flying 3D printer,”New Scientist writes. “One day such drones might work together to help remove waste from nuclear sites or help patch up damaged buildings.”
Apparently inspired by the nest-building behavior of swifts, birds that construct spaces using their own saliva, the machine uses a mixture of two chemicals that combine to form a quick-hardening polyurethane foam. That foam—otherwise unstructured, and only applied as precisely as the quadcopter’s stability would allow—then acts as an adhesive, basically sticking the drone to small containers of waste that can then be airlifted to safety.
via Gizmodo
